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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24423724">(Mostly) Solangelo One-Shots (REQUESTS!!!)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panic_At_The_Disney/pseuds/Panic_At_The_Disney'>Panic_At_The_Disney</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>(Mostly) Solangelo One-Shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Arguments, Background Nico di Angelo &amp; Will Solace, Background Nico di Angelo/Will Solace - Freeform, Book 5: The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson), Boys Kissing, Broken Bones, CHAPTER FIVE TAGS, CHAPTER THREE TAGS, CHAPTER TWO TAGS all right here we go, Capture the Flag, Chapter Four, Coming Out, Complete, Crack, Established Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, F/M, Flashbacks, Flashbacks to Tartarus, Fluff, Gaea - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, I might've added that tag twice, Injured Annabeth Chase, Light Angst, M/M, Meet the Family, Michael Yew's Death, Mourning, Mourning Will Solace, Mutual Pining, Nico being cute, Nico di Angelo has Anxiety, Nico di Angelo has Friends, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace Fluff, Nightmares, One Shot, Oops, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pride, Prompts please, Psychology, Quests, Requesting requests, SO MANY TAGS ALREADY, Shadow Travel (Percy Jackson), Siblings, Stressed Will Solace, Sun Lamps, Teasing, Trans!Nico, Transgender Nico di Angelo, Will Solace has Healing Powers, Will Solace-centric, Will just wants to help, Will's family, background solangelo, chapter six tags, ftm character, part of a series, pre-solangelo - Freeform, prompts, seriously</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:06:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,256</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24423724</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panic_At_The_Disney/pseuds/Panic_At_The_Disney</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>To Be Updated Twice A Week. (Saturdays and Wednesdays)</p><p>ACCEPTING PROMPTS IN THE COMMENTS!!!!</p><p> </p><p>Full chapter summaries in the beginning notes.</p><p>Chapter 1- A flashback is triggered for Nico during capture the flag.</p><p>Chapter 2- Will raises money to treat mental health in the infirmary.</p><p>Chapter 3- Nico comforts his boyfriend after Will has a nightmare.</p><p>Chapter 4- Sequel to Chapter 1.</p><p>Chapter 5- Nico walks in on Kayla and Austin teasing Will about his crush.</p><p>Chapter 6- Nico shadow-travels Will and himself to Texas to see Will's family.</p><p>Chapter 7- Nico keeps accidentally shadow-traveling to Will's bed in the middle of the night.</p><p>Chapter 8- Nico and Will argue about everything, and one day, they take it too far.</p><p>Chapter 9- Trans!Nico coming out fic.</p><p>Chapter 10- Nico can't shake the feeling that his friends aren't safe.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>All Canon Romantic Relationships Are There, Austin Lake &amp; Will Solace, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Kayla Knowles &amp; Austin Lake, Kayla Knowles &amp; Michael Yew, Kayla Knowles &amp; Will Solace, Nico di Angelo &amp; Camp Half-Blood Campers, Nico di Angelo &amp; Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean/Jason Grace, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano &amp; Nico di Angelo, Will Solace &amp; Michael Yew, leo valdez/calypso</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>(Mostly) Solangelo One-Shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1842937</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>198</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>559</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Cardiac Arrest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Summary was getting too long, so here's the original chapter summaries that used to be there:</p><p>Chapter 1-<br/>A flashback is triggered for Nico when Chiron makes a rule allowing teams to take prisoners during capture the flag. (5/30/20)</p><p>Chapter 2-<br/>Will has to find a way to raise enough money to help with the infirmary's ability to treat mental health. (6/3/20)</p><p>Chapter 3-<br/>Some deaths can't be prevented. (Not a death fic) (6/6/20)</p><p>Chapter 4-<br/>The sequel to chapter one. (6/10/20)</p><p>Chapter 5-<br/>Kayla and Austin are tired of Will and Nico's pining. Nico is just in the wrong (right) place at the wrong (right) time. (6/13/20)</p><p>Chapter 6-<br/>After communications are down for demigods, Will's terrified something happened to his mortal family, so Nico shadow-travels them both to Texas. (6/17/20)</p><p>Chapter 7-<br/>Every time Nico has a nightmare, he wakes up in Will Solace's bed. Nico sees this as a problem. Will does not. (6/24/20)</p><p>Chapter 8-<br/>Nico and Will argue about everything. It's harmless, until it's not. (6/27/20)</p><p>Chapter 9-<br/>Nico gets distracted while sparring when two campers are expressing their views on the other side of the arena. Trans!Nico coming out fic. (7/1/20)</p><p>Chapter 10-<br/>Nico can't shake the feeling that his friends aren't safe after he has a nightmare about Gaea returning. (7/22/20)</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A memory is triggered for Nico during capture the flag when Chiron makes a rule allowing teams to take prisoners.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I still can't believe I found you before Jason," Percy bragged for the fifth time. "He's gonna be <em>ticked</em>."</p>
<p>"I wasn't exactly hiding," Nico grumbled.</p>
<p>It was true; his borrowed sword (reaping souls was frowned upon in capture the flag) had been clashing against the Celestial Bronze of Sherman Yang's in plain sight when Percy had grabbed him to take him to the red team's prison. It was all part of Chiron's new rule about taking prisoners. Something about preparing for real combat. As if capture the flag wasn't already violent enough.</p>
<p>"Oh, hush," Percy chided jokingly, "In you go. If you're lucky, your friends will rescue you soon."</p>
<p>It was the way he phrased it and the hands on his arms, pushing him inside the stick-and-leaves prison, that sent Nico plunging into a memory.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>"In you go, demigod. If you're lucky, your friends will rescue you soon."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The twin's hands on his arms didn't falter, but Nico was far too weak to fight them off either way.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"If you're not dead by then," Otis added helpfully.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Yeah, yeah. Enough talking. Gods, you never kill the right people!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Nico made a weak attempt to run away, but Ephialtes only laughed, shoving him inside some sort of bronze cell.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Have fun!" Otis waved at him cheerfully. "See you in... Uh, bye!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Ephialtes picked up some sort of door and covered the opening of the prison, leaving Nico in darkness. There was a falling sensation, and then Nico was on his back, looking up at a small ring of light around the entrance...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Several dozen feet above.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Nico was trapped.</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>"No!" Nico struggled and managed to break free from the giant's grasp. He wouldn't go back in that jar. Never again.</p>
<p>"C'mon, don't be a spoilsport. Admit defeat."</p>
<p>"No!" he yelled again. "Go away!"</p>
<p>"Nico..." Something about the giant's tone had changed. He sounded slightly scared, which he had <em>no right</em> to be.</p>
<p>"Get away from me!" Nico swung his sword and heard Ephialtes grunt in pain. Good.</p>
<p>"Nico, stop!"</p>
<p>That was a different voice. Otis, maybe? Nico was too busy trying to escape to check. He swung his sword blindly, making Otis yelp. Also good.</p>
<p>Ephialtes started dueling with him (when did he get a sword?) and managed to disarm him. Nico punched outward and felt his fist connect with flesh. Ephialtes backed off. Even better.</p>
<p>Otis grabbed his arm, so Nico spun around and tackled the giant, who fell (way too easily). Nico snatched his sword from where it'd fallen, pressing the sharp edge against Otis' throat. He was about to do it. A gods' help or not, he would slay the giant. Like David and Goliath, he had finally beaten them. He was finally strong enough. He--</p>
<p>"Nico..."</p>
<p>He still didn't get that. There was so much <em>fear </em>in the giant's voice. Why?</p>
<p>"Nico, stop. This isn't like you. Put down the sword."</p>
<p>What? That was another voice. A third voice. But there were only two giants. They were called the twins for a reason. And that voice was too human to be Arachne.</p>
<p>"Nico, <em>put down that sword</em>." A fourth voice? What was going on?</p>
<p>"Death Boy, c'mon. I can reattach Paolo's leg, no problem, but Jason's head is another story." That was the third voice again.</p>
<p>'<em>Jason </em>' ? '<em>Death Boy </em>' ? What were they talking about?</p>
<p>"Nico," Otis said again.</p>
<p>Wait.</p>
<p>The body underneath him was too small to be a giant. Who...?</p>
<p>"Nico, it's me, Jason."</p>
<p><em>'Jason's head is another story,' </em>the third voice had said. Oh my <em>gods.</em></p>
<p>Nico lessened his weight on the body, still breathing heavily from fighting off the giants(?) . Nico examined the person and took in the blood --red, not gold; mortal-- oozing from a nasty gash in their arm, and... and Nico's sword pressing into their throat.</p>
<p>"Jason?" he asked the person underneath him. His voice shook, and so did the rest of him.</p>
<p>"Yeah..." He sounded slightly relieved. "Yeah, it's me. Nico?"</p>
<p>"I... I..."</p>
<p>Nico stood shakily, sheathing his sword. He looked around. They'd drawn a small crowd. Percy stood off to the side, a cut on his leg and a bruise in the shape of a fist --<em>Nico's</em> fist-- on his cheek. Will stood next to him, and Nico belatedly recognized the third voice as his. All sounds of capture the flag had ceased, and everyone was just watching them. Watching <em>him.</em></p>
<p>"I'm sorry," Nico gasped, trembling. He wasn't sure who he was apologizing to. Percy, for punching him? Jason, for almost cutting his throat? The other campers, for ruining capture the flag? <em>Everyone</em>, for being a complete <em>freak</em>?</p>
<p>"Nico!" Annabeth called --the fourth voice, Nico realised-- but he was already running deeper into the woods, away from the victims of his unintentional freakish behaviour.</p>
<p>He somehow unintentionally found Zeus' Fist. His guilt quickly turned to anger at himself, so he drew his sword, slicing at the trees around him and trying not to think about the entrance to the Labyrinth less than ten feet away. </p>
<p>When several nymphs showed up and angrily threw pine cones at him, he finally stopped, punching a tree one last time for good measure. He heard and felt bones break, but ignored it, climbing Zeus' Fist and perching on top. He hugged his knees to his chest and wondered how long it would take someone to find him, if they even bothered looking, after what he'd done.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Not long, apparently. A few minutes later, Will came bounding into the clearing, looking unsurprised to find Nico several feet off the ground. He didn't say anything, just climbed up next to him and leaned back to look at the clouds. The sun was shining annoyingly bright, but Will seemed unbothered. Stupid son of the sun.</p>
<p>"I just saw you attack Percy and Jason for no reason." Nico looked down in shame at Will's words. "But that's just what I saw. What did <em>you</em> see?" </p>
<p>"I don't want to talk about it."</p>
<p>"Yeah? Too bad. My one skill is healing and I can't heal if my patients don't cooperate."</p>
<p>"You have other skills," Nico protested.</p>
<p>Will smirked, the arrogant idiot. "Oh, yeah? Like what?"</p>
<p>"Like, um. You make me feel better?"</p>
<p>Will snorted. "Yeah, healing. I already said that."</p>
<p>"No, I mean..." Nico broke off, frustrated. How to describe it... "Ah, nevermind. Forget I said anything." When he chanced a look at Will, the blond wore a soft smile, still looking at the sky.</p>
<p>"Thanks. But stop distracting me." Will sat up again.</p>
<p>Nico furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"C'mon, Nico. What did you see?"</p>
<p><em>Oh. That.</em> "I wasn't actually trying to distract you."</p>
<p>Will raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Good. Then you'll have no problem answering."</p>
<p>Nico huffed. "The giants. The jar. Pawn. Flashback. Don't wanna talk about it."</p>
<p>Will rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you've mentioned."</p>
<p>"No, you don't get it, Will! What if talking about it makes me go back there? What if talking about it makes me hurt you? What if talking about it makes me go <em>crazy?!</em>"</p>
<p>"That's not what you mean. You mean, 'What if it makes it real?' Well, here's the thing, Nico. It's <em>already</em> real. You can't change that."</p>
<p>"But... But I just... Gods, Will, what's wrong with me? I hurt Percy. I almost killed Jason. I <em>actually did</em> kill Octavian. And Bryce Lawrence... that was worse than murder."</p>
<p>Will knew all about Nico's past from when Nico just really needed someone to talk to. And Will... was really easy to talk to.</p>
<p>"Octavian was not your fault, Nico. It had to happen. You couldn't have stopped it. Besides, it helped kill Gaea. You shouldn't have stopped it, or she might--"</p>
<p>"Yeah, yeah, I know! '<em>Some deaths shouldn't be prevented</em>.' I've heard it before. From Hades," he added at Will's questioning look. "But that's not the point. I still let it happen. I could've stopped it. We could've found another way, or... or something. I saw the way you looked at me, Solace. You think it's wrong. Well, guess what? SO DO I!" I'm a monster, Will, so don't try to pretend otherwise."</p>
<p>Maybe it was the Italian in him, but as his voice filled with emotion, his hands waved wildly in the air, until Will stopped him by grabbing his hand and interlocking their fingers. His rant stopped, along with his breathing, and his heart.</p>
<p>"Nico, you're not a monster. You heard it before, yeah, but some deaths shouldn't-- what the Hades?" </p>
<p>Will was staring at their hands, where... A bruise was forming. <em>Schist.</em></p>
<p>"Nico, <em>what did you do?</em>"</p>
<p>"Uh... punched a tree?"</p>
<p>"And you're still letting me hold your hand? The heck, Nico?!"</p>
<p><em>Hold your hand.</em> Yep, and there goes Nico's heart again.</p>
<p>"It doesn't hurt that much," Nico said casually. <em>Please don't pull away, please don't pull away, please don't pull away--</em></p>
<p>Will pulled away. "How does <em>this</em>--" he gestured to Nico's hand as he dug in his medical bag for supplies, "--not hurt?"</p>
<p>"Um, high pain tolerance?"</p>
<p>"You broke your hand," Will deadpanned.</p>
<p>"I got angry!" Nico defended.</p>
<p>"I noticed. The evidence is right in front of me."</p>
<p>Will healed his hand quickly with that magic glowing power that Nico never really understood. He dropped Nico's hand, but placed his own next to it, their pinkies just barely touching.</p>
<p>"Don't go punching anymore trees, okay?"</p>
<p>"I won't."</p>
<p>"Somehow, I don't believe you," Will said sarcastically.</p>
<p>"For good reason." Will shot him a look. "Okay, okay, I promise."</p>
<p>"Pinky promise?"</p>
<p>"What are you, five?"</p>
<p>"Pinky promise!"</p>
<p>"Fine, fine."</p>
<p>Will grinned and scooted his hand closer, interlocking their smallest fingers. This time, he didn't move away.</p>
<p>It wasn't <em>quite</em> the electricity that holding hands had been, but it was enough... for now. </p>
<p>Whatever. Plenty of time for cardiac-arrest-inducing activities later.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The God of Riches (And His Amazing Son)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Will has to find a way to raise enough money to help with the infirmary's ability to treat mental health.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Prompt:<br/>"Will getting angry about CHB not really having proper counselling/mental health resources and snapping after The Last Olympian for not getting the resources he needs for the infirmary and all the campers are surprised even though he's not exactly happy-go-lucky or the type of person to take crap in canon he's usually a pretty laid back guy."<br/>Requested by beobeo<br/> <br/>Just so nobody gets confused, this one-shot takes place after The Last Olympian, after the Battle of Manhattan, but before Percy disappears.</p><p>A little bit of canon dialogue, don't sue me.</p><p>OKAY, I KNOW I SAID I WOULDN'T POST UNTIL SATURDAY, BUT...<br/>I've had this done since Monday and it's been driving me crazy, so early chapter, here we go</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Come on, Will!"</p><p>"Will, I need those bandages ASAP."</p><p>"Will, we need you <em>now</em>."</p><p>"Coming!"</p><p>Will tossed a camper ambrosia and threw a roll of bandages over everyone's heads for one of his siblings to catch, already making his way over to Annabeth.</p><p>"You called?" he said to Kayla, slightly out of breath.</p><p>"Will,<em> help her</em>!" Kayla screeched, looking seconds away from passing out from lack of sleep.</p><p>"What's the problem?" Will wasn't much better, if the burning sensation in his eyes was anything to go by.</p><p>"She was <em>stabbed</em>, Will! She took a knife for Percy and it was poisoned and I've already tried diluting it and I <em>don't think I can do this</em>!"</p><p>"Hey..." Will didn't look up from where he knelt next to Annabeth. "How about you rest? Battle's taking a break from ruining my sanity, so why don't you go get us coffee and take Annabeth's phone? I'll call you if we need you immediately."</p><p>If it were up to him, he'd send every one of his siblings and the demigods they were supposed to be healing to Disneyland and take care of the stressful things himself, but unfortunately, that wasn't practical.  They could do without Kayla for a bit, though, and besides... Will could really use some coffee.</p><p>"Oh my gods, thank you, Will, I'll be right back, just call me if you need me." Kayla grabbed Annabeth's phone from where it sat on a table beside her and took off down the stairs.</p><p>"Annabeth..." Percy said, choking up. Will felt bad for him.</p><p>"Poison on the dagger," Annabeth mumbled. "Pretty stupid of me, huh?"</p><p>Will exhaled with relief. "It's not so bad, Annabeth. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but the venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar."</p><p>Percy grabbed him a canteen and held Annabeth's hand while Will cleaned out the wound. Annabeth gripped Percy's fingers so tight they turned purple, but held still. Will spread a silver paste on the wound and hummed a hymn to Apollo. He applied fresh bandages and stood up shakily. The healing had taken a lot of his energy. He was as pale as Annabeth.</p><p>He started giving orders for uninjured campers to go collect more mortal supplies, but Kayla ran onto the terrace, making him falter.</p><p>"Kayla? What are you doing here? I--</p><p>"Will, we've got problems." Kayla's face was ashen white. "It's Michael."</p><p>"No..." Will sent one last look at Annabeth and took off with Kayla.</p><hr/><p>Clovis had been working over-time. It seemed every five seconds another demigod came up to him, asking for him to take away their nightmares. He had actually taken to napping on a porch swing in front of the newly-built Hypnos cabin. That way, he got fewer complaints from his siblings about waking them up when people came running up to him. Not that Clovis didn't still get woken up all the time, because he did. His sleep-schedule was really messed up, too. He went from a normal, healthy twenty-three hours a day to a mere<em> nineteen</em>. Gods, how did other people do it?</p><p>"Hey Clovis, can you--"</p><p>"Could you<em> please</em> pick one of my siblings?" Clovis yawned. "You're like the fifth one in the past hour. I'm trying to <em>sleep</em>."</p><p>"Um, okay? I was just going to ask you to back me up on something?"</p><p>Clovis sat up reluctantly, rubbing at his eyes. He was<em> so</em> tired. He took a better look at the person who'd bothered him. "Wait, Will? You never ask for help with nightmares."</p><p>Will shrugged. "I haven't really slept enough to need it."</p><p>Clovis figured it was true, because Will had gigantic bags under his eyes and was holding a thermos of coffee bigger than his head. Clovis yawned again.</p><p>Will glared at him, yawning in harmony. "Stop that."</p><p>Clovis just rubbed at his eye again. "What did you say you wanted?"</p><p>"I need to talk to Chiron and I need you to back me up on this."</p><p>"You mean... like, right now?"</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>"Can't you pick, like, literally <em>anyone else</em>? I'm <em>tired.</em>" He didn't really care that he sounded like a whiny toddler, as long as it got everyone to<em> leave him the heck alone.</em></p><p>"Clovis, I swear to Hades, I will shove this coffee up your--wait, no, mine. Back off. I will wake you up every five minutes until you help me."</p><p>"You are <em>no fair.</em>"</p><hr/><p><br/>"Come in, Mr. Solace."</p><p>Will yanked open the door to Chiron's office, dragging a half-asleep Clovis behind him. Will dug around in his pocket and tossed Clovis a 5-Hour Energy, before guiding him to sit in one of the chairs across from the desk where Chiron was sitting. Will plopped down next to Clovis and chugged the remainder of coffee, before focusing on Chiron, who'd watched the whole thing, amused.</p><p>"Is there a reason you're not in the infirmary, Mr. Solace?"</p><p>Will resisted the urge to throw his empty coffee cup at Chiron's face. He was too tired for this schist. "I've been working since--nevermind. I have a request."</p><p>Chiron raised an eyebrow at him. "<em>Do</em> tell."</p><p>Will took a deep breath. "I think we need some more supplies for the infirmary."</p><p>Chiron furrowed his eyebrows. "Is there a particular thing you need? We just recently invested in mortal equipment--heart monitors, X-ray machines, and the like--at your request. We also stocked up on ambrosia and nectar, again at your request. And before that, private rooms for serious injuries. Before that, digital scales. Then there were the rapid-healing stitches blessed by Apollo, the patient files written in Greek for our more Dyslexic campers, Adderall, Ritalin, and Concerta to treat the most severe cases of ADHD--"</p><p>"Yes, sir, I understand that I've asked for many things for the infirmary in the hectic time after our most recent battle, but this is... different."</p><p>"How so?"</p><p>"I would like Camp Half-Blood to invest in equipment to help more...  psychological problems."</p><p>Chiron sighed. "Not this again."</p><p>Will cocked his head, confused. "Again?"</p><p>Chiron gave a small nod. "I have already received this request from Miss Dare, Mr. Jackson, Miss Chase, almost the entirety of the Athena cabin, and several of your siblings, Mr. Solace."</p><p>Will breathed out in relief. "So you're already looking into it."</p><p>"I'm afraid not, Mr. Solace."</p><p>Will blinked, his relief short-lived. "Why? You have to understand the urgency of my request. Several resources I've read, courtesy of the Athena cabin, say that psychological trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and anxiety slow reflexes, which could cause more injuries in battle, and the infirmary is already so busy. And many campers have nightmares almost nightly, right Clovis?"</p><p>Clovis game him a look, like, <span class="u"><em>This</em></span> <em>i</em><em>s why you bothered me?</em>  "Yeah, he's not wrong. People have been nagging my siblings constantly ever since the Battle of Manhattan."</p><p>Will looked pointedly at Chiron. "Yes, thank you, Clovis. You see, Chiron? Everyone would benefit from the infirmary's ability to treat mental health."</p><p>Chiron sighed again. "Enough, Mr. Solace. As I have said, I've received this request from many others, and I will tell you exactly what I've told them. As much as I agree with you," </p><p>Will beamed, </p><p>"I can't give you want you ask for." </p><p>Will deflated.</p><p>"We simply haven't the funds for it."</p><p>"But the strawberries--"</p><p>"Barely cover the cost of rebuilding the destruction caused by the war. There is simply no way I can help you. I'm sorry, Mr. Solace." Chiron leaned back in his chair, resigned.</p><p>"Chiron, I don't think you understand--"</p><p>"I understand perfectly well--"</p><p>"No, you don't!" Will stood sharply. "You don't understand. You don't see the aftershocks of the war like I do. Like the other campers do. At least hourly, someone stumbles into my infirmary with tears in their eyes, looking like they've seen a ghost, because they <em>have.</em> Every night, the entire camp relives the deaths of their friends, of their <em>f</em><em>amily</em>. And all I can do is talk to them while they mourn. While they mourn Lee, Castor, Beckendorf, and... and Michael. Silena, Ethan, Luke, and <em>so</em> many others. And you know what I can do to help? A whole <em>nothing</em>. But you don't even care!" Will stomped to the door, ignoring Clovis, who was shocked by his outburst.</p><p>"Mr. Solace," Chiron called, and Will stopped reluctantly. "I care much more than you would believe."</p><p>Will rolled his eyes. "Sure you do."</p><hr/><p>"What's up with <em>you?</em> "</p><p>Will spun around from where he stood in front of the infirmary, hand outstretched to open the door. Nico froze when he caught sight of his expression.</p><p>"Why are you here? And why do you have a travel bag?" Will wasn't in the mood for pleasantries.</p><p>"I'm leaving soon. And I came to get ambrosia to take with me."</p><p>"Why are you leaving?"</p><p>Nico dodged the question. "You look mad."</p><p>"I <em>am</em> mad." Will opened the infirmary door and wordlessly led Nico to the supply closet in the break room.</p><p>"What happened?" Nico dared to ask, taking the ambrosia Will handed him and waiting as Will fished around for something else.</p><p>"Just finished asking Chiron for equipment to treat mental health." For some reason, Nico seemed to stiffen at his words. "I thought it was a good idea. Chiron disagreed."</p><p>"It is a good idea." Nico tossed the ambrosia in his bag, not looking at Will. "It's a big, um, problem. Why did Chiron disagree?"</p><p>"Well, he didn't mind the idea, really. He said a lot of people had asked him the same thing, actually."</p><p>Nico's face darkened. "Like who?"</p><p>Will shrugged as best as he could while still rustling through the closet. "You know, the elite squad. Annabeth. Percy. Them."</p><p>For whatever reason, Nico suddenly seemed sad. "And Chiron said no?"</p><p>"He said it would cost too much." Will blindly tossed a roll of bandages over his shoulder and heard Nico grunt as he caught it. "I wish I got paid for working in the infirmary. Then maybe after working here daily since I was, like, eight, I would have enough for this."</p><p>Nico raised an eyebrow at him, not fazed by Will throwing things at his head. "First of all, it's wrong that you don't get paid. You're in here almost all the time. And second of all, you'd spend your own money on this?"</p><p>Will shot him a look, backing away and closing the closet door. "I don't like just letting people suffer. So many people have mental health problems. Heck, you're one of them!"</p><p>Nico recoiled. "Excuse me?"</p><p>"Oh c'mon, you'd got to have some sort of PTSD after what you've been through."</p><p>Nico just looked confused now. "I don't know what that is."</p><p>Will walked over to the coffee maker. This conversation needed Alert Will, not Dead On The Inside Will. "It stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's what happens when you go through something traumatizing. Like a war."</p><p>"Oh, <em>that's</em> what you meant by mental health?" Nico sounded relieved.</p><p>Will turned to face him. "Yeah, what did you think I meant?"</p><p>"Mental health is a recent thing." Nico's expression was guarded, but Will didn't find anything unusual with his statement.</p><p>"You're right, people only really started talking about it recently. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, schizophrenia; it's all pretty new."</p><p>"Maybe Chiron's age is part of why he doesn't want to pay for it."</p><p>"Maybe." Will handed Nico a mug of coffee. The mug and the coffee were both black, because Will had a feeling Nico was one of <em>those</em> people. "He said it was just that there wasn't enough money, but I bet that's part of it."</p><p>Nico took the mug from Will's hand gratefully, not even recoiling at the bitter taste. Will had been right. <em>Weirdo.</em> "How much do you need?"</p><p>"Why do you care?"</p><p>Nico wouldn't look at him. "Curiosity."</p><p>Will told him, because there wasn't really any reason not to. "What are you planning?"</p><p>"Nothing," Nico said dismissively. "Thank you for the coffee."</p><p>"Wait--"</p><p>Nico set the barely-touched mug down on the counter and disappeared into the shadows.</p><p>Will felt weirdly disappointed.</p><hr/><p>The next day, the <em>entire</em> Athena cabin (all twenty-one of them) came stampeding into the staff room, Annabeth in the lead. She wordlessly held out an envelope for Will to take. He would've been worried, if it weren't for the proud smile on every single child of Athena's face.</p><p>"What--" Will started to say.</p><p>"We got it," Annabeth said simply.</p><p>"How--"</p><p>"Just <em>open it,</em> Will!" Malcolm Pace called out.</p><p>"Okay, okay!" But Will still examined the envelope first.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>For Will Solace</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Tell Chiron he should've planted more strawberries</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Will snorted. He slid a finger under the flap of the envelope and flicked it open, emptying the contents onto a table.</p><p>"Oh my gods," one of the campers breathed. </p><p>Will was just as shocked. He reached out a hand and carefully shifted the pile of money.</p><p>"This is mortal money," Malcolm pointed out.</p><p>"Could you count it, please?" Will tried to sound calm, but truthfully he was freaking out on the inside.</p><p>"Uh, sure."</p><p>Will watched with bated breath. Malcolm thumbed through the pile of money. When he told Will the amount, the son of Apollo actually squealed.</p><p>"Wait, hold on, what's this?" Annabeth reached over his shoulder and pulled out a folded slip of notebook paper. "The envelope was addressed to you, Will, so this is probably for you, too." </p><p>Annabeth handed him the paper. He could have sworn she was smirking.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Let's hope your numbers were right</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Thank the god of riches, not me</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>And don't forget my message to Chiron</strong>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p><br/>"Mr. Solace, my answer was quite clear," Chiron said sternly.</p><p>"That's actually not why I'm here, sir."</p><p>Chiron raised an eyebrow. "Go on, then."</p><p>"Um, I have a message from Nico..."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If anybody thinks the scene with Annabeth at the beginning seems out of place, it's because this went a completely different direction than I thought it would when I wrote that part.</p><p>So I checked; in the book, Michael Yew dies before Will heals Annabeth, but for the sake of this chapter, we're switching that order.</p><p>Leave me prompts! Stay safe!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Half Special</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p><em> Some deaths can't be prevented. </em> (Not a death fic)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Two prompts this time<br/>1) Could you do a story with Will having PTSD after being a war medic and breaking down?</p><p>AND</p><p>2) Will being one of the best medics of Camp Half-Blood, but mainly because he practiced and studied a lot.</p><p>Both requested by beobeo.</p><p>The prompts are more subtly there for this one.</p><p>This one borders on drabble and less on one-shot.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Will, it's over."</p><p>No. No, it couldn't be over, because there was a little boy in front of him and he was hurt and Will needed to heal him, but Kayla was making that difficult, because she kept trying to pull him away, and he needed to <em>fix</em> <em>him</em>--</p><p>"Will, that's enough!"</p><p>"No!" Will jerked away from Kayla, his hands lighting up feebly.</p><p>"Will, you're exhausted," Austin tried, "you can't fix this."</p><p>"But I <em>have</em> to. He's-- He's hurt..." </p><p>Will leaned over the boy, feeling for a pulse. It was there, but it was faint, and fading quickly. Will concentrated everything he had on the Apollo half of himself. Half-god, half-blood, half special. Not all, but half would have to be enough. He needed to save the boy, because the boy was like him; half-god, half-blood, half-special, and right now, half-dead.</p><p>"Will, stop, you're going to hurt yourself..." That was Kayla again. She sounded scared, because she didn't get it. Healing was the only thing he was good at. He had to fix this, or he had no <em>purpose</em>.</p><p>He let his hands hover over the poisoned scratches on the young demigod's stomach. <em>An unknown monster</em>, one satyr had told him. <em>Some sort of dragon</em>. Will had no idea how to get rid of the poison, but Hades, if he wasn't going to drop everything and <em>try</em>.</p><p>"Nico, thank gods. Could you please stop him?" That was Austin, but he wasn't talking to Will anymore.</p><p>"Will, you're hurting him..."</p><p>What? No, he was helping. Right?</p><p>"Will." Arms wrapped around his waist. Nico's, if the leather jacket was anything to go by. "You need to let go. You're hurting him." </p><p>Nico's gloved hands trailed down Will's arms, intertwining their hands. The heat from Will's glowing hands probably hurt, but Nico didn't let go.</p><p>"Look at his face, Will." The son of Apollo glanced up at the young boy's face. His eyebrows were wrinkled, and his mouth was twisted into a frown. "He's hurting, Will. It's time for him to leave. You holding him back is hurting him."</p><p>"I-I <em>can't</em>..."</p><p>"Yes, you can. Let go, Will."</p><p>Will let out a sob, his hands losing their glow. </p><p>"That's it, Will." Nico reached his hand through the gap between Will's arm and side.</p><p>The young camper's body didn't move, but a shadow of him rose up. Chattering teeth, blank expression, bones exposed; a ghost identical to every other soul in Asphodel.</p><p>"Go," Nico said simply. The soul vanished, leaving the room feeling much colder than before.</p>
<hr/><p>Nico didn't like having to interfere. But when Will got like this, with that haunted look in his eyes, he had to do something about it.</p><p>"Will, stop it, your hands are shaking." </p><p>Will paused for the first time since Nico had released the soul of the young half-blood several hours ago. "I'm fine."</p><p>"Okay. Well, I'm hungry. Want to go get lunch?" It was an obvious lie, and they both knew it. Nico only ate when Will made him.</p><p>"Not right now." Will didn't look up from where he'd gone back to setting a broken arm.</p><p>"Okay..." Nico jumped down from the empty cot he'd been sitting on. "Want to go in the lake?"</p><p>"Not really."</p><p>Nico sighed, walking over to his boyfriend. "We could go back to my cabin," he suggested, combing his fingers through Will's messy blond hair.</p><p>Will gave an exasperated sigh, finally looking up and batting Nico's hands away. "Nico, I'm really busy and I don't have time for this right now."</p><p>"Okay." Nico didn't move.</p><p>"Nico..." Will actually <em>glared</em> at him.</p><p>"Okay, okay. I'll come back later then."</p><p>Will sighed again, heavy shadows under his eyes from working too much. "Yeah, if you want."</p>
<hr/><p>He came back a couple hours later with coffee. Will had barely moved, except to move on to a different patient. "Will..."</p><p>He glanced up. "Still busy, sorry."</p><p>"Will," he said, more firmly.</p><p>Will didn't answer.</p>
<hr/><p>Nico actually waited until Will missed dinner the next day to check on him, and finding him still in the infirmary with giant bags under his eyes was the final straw.</p><p>"Will, did you sleep at all?"</p><p>Will started, like he hadn't heard him walk up, but Nico had been trying to get his attention for several minutes now. "Um, a bit."</p><p>"Okay, that's it." Nico pulled Will up by the arm.</p><p>"Where..." He broke off with a yawn.</p><p>"To get dinner. And then you're going to sleep with me tonight."</p><p>"The romance is strong with this one," Kayla muttered as they passed her.</p><p>"Oh, shut up. Not like that," Will said, rolling his eyes. "And Nico, I'm fine. I have to--"</p><p>"Don't you <em>dare</em> say work."</p><p>Will's mouth snapped shut.</p><p>"That's what I thought."</p>
<hr/><p>It was around four in the morning when Nico woke up. At first, he didn't find anything unusual about it. He usually woke up early.</p><p>But then he noticed a light coming from the corner of the room. He mentally ran through the possibilities --Iris Message, a spirit, Greek fire-- before he noticed the Will-shaped shadow. He was reading by the light of a mortal flashlight propped up against the wall.</p><p>Nico slipped out of bed, walking over to Will and sitting next to him. "Did you sleep at all?"</p><p>"A little bit."</p><p>Nico slid the book closer so he could read the title. "<em>Rare Poisons and Their Even Rarer Cures.</em> I get the feeling you're not reading this just for fun."</p><p>Will didn't answer, pulling the book back. He looked back down at the page, but his eyes didn't move.</p><p>"You know you couldn't have stopped his death, right? He had to die."</p><p>"I could have," Will whispered, his hands clenching into fists.</p><p>"No, you couldn't have. He had to die."</p><p>"Stop... stop<em> saying </em>that." There was a surprising amount of venom in the words, but Nico knew it wasn't directed towards him.</p><p>" '<em>Some death can't be--</em>' "</p><p>"STOP SAYING THAT!" Will punched his arm, but there was no force behind it.</p><p>"Will, what's the real reason you're awake?" Nico pressed.</p><p>He took several moments to answer. "Had a nightmare. Flashback to the war."</p><p>"Manhattan or..."</p><p>"Manhattan."</p><p>That probably meant Michael or Lee. "When did you get up?"</p><p>Will glanced at his watch. "Three hours ago."</p><p>Nico tucked his legs underneath himself. "And when did you go to sleep?"</p><p>"Uh... four hours ago," he muttered.</p><p>Nico sucked in a breath. "Will..."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"Do you want to go back to sleep? Breakfast isn't for a couple hours."</p><p>Will shook his head. "Not tired."</p><p>"The shadows under your eyes say otherwise."</p><p>Will moved away from him. "Not tired," he repeated stubbornly.</p><p>Nico didn't argue, but he knew he was lying. They were silent for several minutes.</p><p>"It was Silena," Will said softly. </p><p>Nico nodded. Silena was one of the deaths that hit the hardest. Partly because of Silena's tendency to be kind to everyone, and partly because Clarisse had been uncharacteristically calm for weeks afterward. Not to mention the mixed feelings from some campers after learning that she was a spy.</p><p>"It's my fault," Will whispered, staring at his hands.</p><p>"It's not your fault," Nico insisted.</p><p>Will started to speak, but broke off with a choked sob. Nico pulled Will to him, letting him cry into his shirt. Nico ran his fingers through Will's hair soothingly. </p><p>"It's not your fault," he repeated, "So there's no need to punish yourself like this."</p><p>Will gave a confused hum.</p><p>"You do this every time you can't save someone. You stay up late and read about the cause of their death and how you can fix it."</p><p>Will lifted his head up a couple inches, just enough to speak. "It's how I--"</p><p>"It's how you're the best at healing," Nico finished, smiling wearily. "I know. You've told me."</p><p>"It's what I'm good at." Will had let his head fall back onto Nico's shoulder, so his words were muffled.</p><p>"I know, but overworking yourself won't improve your skill."</p><p>Will sighed, his breath tickling Nico's collarbone. "So you've mentioned."</p><p>Nico gave a small chuckle. "It's true and you know it is."</p><p>Will turned so his face was exposed and went to speak, but a yawn came out instead.</p><p>"Not tired, huh?" </p><p>Nico gently pushed Will away, ignoring his protests. He stood and picked Will up, and, with some difficulty, carried him over to his bed. He dropped him unceremoniously, shoving him over and making room for himself.</p><p>"Sleep before I make you."</p><p>Will looked at him with bleary eyes. "How?"</p><p>"Powers."</p><p>"Oh, you better not." Will glared at him half-heartedly, but the look was ruined when he snuggled up to Nico's side.</p><p>"Then go the heck to sleep!"</p><p>"Language!"</p><p>"How is that language? I said <em>'heck'</em>."</p><p>Will shrugged as best as he could while horizontal.</p><p>"And I also said 'go to sleep'. Guess which one you ignored?"</p><p>Will huffed. "I'm trying, but you won't stop talking!"</p><p>"Oh, you little..."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Sorry this one's shorter.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Oblivious Minotaur Schist</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The sequel to chapter one.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>...so apparently...</p><p>Wednesday updates are a thing now...</p><p>¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p><p>Prompt:<br/>"Maybe what happened after this scene? Percy and the rest telling Nico they understand and comforting him? Lou Ellen, Cecil, and other friends that he made outside of a quest helping him out, because it'll kind of show how he isn't alone and that there are other people that would like to be his friends and they want to because of Nico himself; he talked to them on his own and they like him for him."<br/>Requested by Alien_persephone</p><p>I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING THE FIRST CHAPTER BEFORE THIS ONE, but you might (keyword = might) be able to understand without it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nico knocked on the door of the Zeus cabin. Will squeezed his hand reassuringly, letting go as the door swung open.</p><p>"Nico?"</p><p>"Um, hey, Jason," Nico said awkwardly. "Can I... come in?"</p><p>Jason gave him a small smile. "Of course. Everyone's inside."</p><p>He opened the door all the way, letting Nico see inside. When he said everyone, he meant everyone. Percy and Annabeth were sitting on the floor, leaning against each other. Piper was sitting on the floor by Jason's bed, rebraiding her hair. Connor and Travis Stoll were in the corner, whispering to each other and gesturing wildly. Clarisse and Chris were arm-wrestling. Nico even spotted Lou Ellen and Cecil chatting off to the side.</p><p>Jason cleared his throat. "Nico would like to make some toast."</p><p>Nico glared at him.</p><p>"Hey, you can't diss a Despicable Me reference," Will called out. He'd slipped away and moved to the back of the group while Nico was looking around at everyone.</p><p>Nico stepped further into the room, letting Jason shut the door behind him. "Despicable-what-now?"</p><p>"You haven't seen Despicable Me?" Percy gasped.</p><p>"No--"</p><p>"That's not why you came here, though, right?" Travis interrupted.</p><p>"Yeah, you seem very...spooked. We didn't prank you, don't worry," Connor added.</p><p>"No, I..." Nico took a deep breath. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry." He gestured around the room. "To all of you, I'm sorry. It was... completely unjustified for me to attack you like that. It was unprovoked, and inexcusable. You deserve an explanation. When, um, when Percy grabbed me, I had a..." he trailed off, looking for the right word.</p><p>"Flashback," Will suggested.</p><p>"Yeah, thank you. I had a flashback to when... to when the giants were forcing me into the bronze jar. Right after I got out of...Tartarus."</p><p>Percy and Annabeth stiffened at the word.</p><p>"Was it Percy grabbing you that triggered it?" Jason asked.</p><p>"It was... but Percy, don't you dare blame yourself," he added quickly when Percy opened his mouth to speak. "It was that and what you said. Um, I think it was... 'If you're lucky, your friends will rescue you soon.' Yeah, the giants, they, um, said that."</p><p>"I'm sorry, Nico," Percy told him.</p><p>Nico shook his head. "Not your fault, remember? You had no way of knowing. And it was also that stupid rule that Chiron made. I didn't like being a, er, pawn for other people again. Bait. That was a big part of it, too. Anyway, I just wanted to explain why I attacked you, and apologize for it."</p><p>He turned to look at Jason. "I'm sorry for almost cutting off your head."</p><p>He turned to Percy. "I'm sorry for punching you in the face."</p><p>He gestured helplessly at the rest of the group. "And I'm sorry for causing trouble for everyone. It was completely irrational, and cruel, and... and insane. I... have no excuse. You guys deserve better. You did absolutely nothing wrong, and I just hurt you for no reason. I hope... well, I hope you can forgive me." He hung his head, twisting his ring.</p><p>There was silence for a moment. Then...</p><p>"Well, that was a nice apology," Connor said.</p><p>"Yeah, but I gotta say, Connor, it would be more fitting if he had something to be sorry for," Travis replied.</p><p>Nico looked up hesitantly. "What do you mean?"</p><p>Clarisse rolled her eyes. "He <em>means</em> that you didn't do anything wrong, you oblivious piece of Minotaur schist."</p><p>"I... why are you all here, anyway?"</p><p>"Because we wanted to see if you were okay, Nico," Annabeth called from the floor.</p><p>"Uh... why?"</p><p>Piper smacked her forehead. "You really <em>are</em> an oblivious piece of Minotaur schist."</p><p>Clarisse nodded at her approvingly. "<em>Thank</em> you."</p><p>"We all care about you, Death Breath," Percy said, grinning.</p><p>"Yeah," Cecil added. "From the moment I saw you, I was like, 'now <em>there's</em> a guy who'll help me prank Will.' "</p><p>Will narrowed his eyes at Nico. "You wouldn't."</p><p>"He would," Cecil argued.</p><p>"Oh, I absolutely would," Nico agreed.</p><p>Will huffed.</p><p>"And you complimented my pig balls," Lou Ellen added. "Right before you had to go save Will's butt."</p><p>"I feel so attacked right now," Will pouted.</p><p>"You helped me pulverize Jackson when he doused me with a wave," Clarisse added.</p><p>"Oh, stop bringing that up! It was one time!" Percy complained.</p><p>"And remember when he gave us his entire Mythomagic collection for free?" Travis asked Connor.</p><p>"Oh, yeah. Bargaining material for <em>months</em>."</p><p>"And free gifts for all of our crappy siblings!"</p><p>"Hey!" Cecil complained.</p><p>"I don't play Mythomagic anymore," Nico told them. "I was holding onto it for no reason."</p><p>It wasn't for no reason; it was the memories that they held, but that was also part of the reason he'd wanted to get rid of them.</p><p>"We all have reasons to like you, Nico," Chris said kindly. "Reasons you gave us."</p><p>'"I...don't know what to say," Nico admitted, feeling lost.</p><p>Will answered him. "How about, 'Wow, Will, you were right! You're so smart. Not to mention handsome. Also, I think you're really cute, even though I've got my head stuck in a black depressing cloud of emo-ness, and I would really like to go on a date with you. Please say yes, though I know I'm unworthy of your affections, you gorgeous piece of man-meat,' ?"</p><p>"Really, guys?" Percy said incredulously. "Right in front of my salad?"</p><p>Annabeth elbowed him. "Just let it happen, Seaweed Brain."</p><p>"For the record, I would never say that," Nico argued, his face bright red.</p><p>Will sighed. "I know, but let me dream."</p><p>Cecil elbowed him. "Willy Boy's got a cruuuuuush?"</p><p>"ANYWAY," Jason practically shouted. "Nico, everybody has been hanging out in my cabin since you ran. We would've gone after you, but your boy said no."</p><p>"I don't have a boy," Nico said flatly. He could've sworn he heard Will mutter, "Ouch," but when he looked, the blond was grinning.</p><p>"You're right, you don't have a boy." Connor jokingly looked Will up and down, a suggestive smirk on his face. Will flexed his biceps. "You've got a <em>man</em>."</p><p>Travis wolf-whistled. "The gay in this room is overwhelming."</p><p>"Oh my <em>gods</em>, you guys, <em>stop</em>," Nico said, grinning.</p><p>"Never," Percy deadpanned.</p><hr/><p>"I told you it would be fine, Nico. You should listen to me more often." Will swung their hands back and forth as they walked.</p><p>Nico snorted. "<em>That</em> would be disastrous. But..."</p><p>"But," Will prompted.</p><p>"But... this time, and <em>only</em> this time, you were right. They were cool about it."</p><p>Will whooped. "Heck <em>yeah,</em> I was!"</p><p>"Now, now, don't go getting a big head. You're still wrong the other 90% of the time."</p><p>Will huffed. "<em>Rude</em>."</p><p>They walked in comfortable silence to the edge of the forest. It was getting darker, the trees mostly shadow.</p><p>"Do you think we'll be able to find it in the dark?" Will asked.</p><p>"I don't know. But we're gonna try." Nico drew his sword.</p><p>"We should've brought a flashlight," Will said.</p><p>"Yeah, probably... wait, I think I see it." </p><p>Nico cautiously walked up to the shadow that had caught his eye, in case it was a monster or something. When he got closer, he could clearly see the stick-and-leaf prison the teams had used during capture the flag.</p><p>"Yeah, this is it," Nico confirmed.</p><p>"Do you want to do the honours?"</p><p>Nico nodded. He lifted his sword and swung again and again until the prison was destroyed.</p><p>He gave a small, satisfied smile and sheathed his sword. "That's that, then." He grabbed Will's hand. It still felt so weird that he was allowed to do that now.</p><p>"Wanna climb a tree?" Will asked suddenly.</p><p>"Why the <em>Hades</em> would I want to climb a tree?"</p><p>Will didn't answer.</p><p>Nico sighed. "Yeah, let's do it."</p><p>Will grinned. "Race you to the top?"</p><p>Nico grinned back. "You're on."</p><p>It turns out, refusing to let go of someone's hand makes climbing difficult, but they managed. They both sat on a branch next to each other, watching the last of the sun fade away.</p><p>Will snorted suddenly. </p><p>"What?" Nico asked.</p><p>"Nothing, I'm just thinking of that old rhyme. You know, Person A and Person B, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g."</p><p>Nico flushed slightly. "I would be Person A."</p><p>Will gasped dramatically. "You would not! I would be Person A!"</p><p>Nico elbowed him. "Lies."</p><p>Will rolled his eyes. "Truce?" He dropped Nico's hand and stuck out his pinky.</p><p>Nico's eyes narrowed. "Temporary truce."</p><p>Will laughed. "Temporary truce," he agreed.</p><p>Nico shrugged, leaning in to connect their pinkies.</p><p>Will was the one that connected their lips.</p><hr/><p>By the next day, Chiron's new rule was gone.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This turned out way fluffier than I planned...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Angsty Spaghetti Muffins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kayla and Austin are tired of Will and Nico's pining. Nico is just in the wrong (right) place at the wrong (right) time.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Did I go a little too far with the teasing? Yes. Is it slightly ridiculous now? Yep. Am I about to try to change it? Absolutely not.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hey Will, do you think Nico's complexion is more alabaster or porcelain?"</p><p>Will hummed absentmindedly from where he was laying upside-down in his bunk. "Probably... ivory with undertones of cool almond. Like warm honey."</p><p>Kayla giggled from where she was sticking her head out of the bathroom. "Okay, thanks."</p><p>"Yep." It wasn't until several minutes later that he fully registered what Kayla had asked him. "Wait, why?" </p><p>"Oh, no reason..." </p><p>Kayla strutted out of the bathroom. She was wearing black skinny jeans and a black skull shirt. She had stolen Will's leather jacket (he had an emo phase, okay?). To top off the look, she had dug out her old combat boots and had put in one earring in the shape of a tooth.</p><p>"Oh my gods, what is on your <em>head</em>?!" Will rolled over to see Kayla properly.</p><p>Oh, did he forget to mention the wig? It was jet-black, messy, and very similar to a certain someone's real hair.</p><p>"Nicked it from the Aphrodites," Kayla said proudly, pretending to twist a non-existent ring on her middle finger. "They use it to cosplay, apparently. Some space guy. Wears a lot of red and black. Looks exactly like Nico." Kayla flipped her 'hair'. "They'll never miss it."</p><p>Will sat up. "And did you <em>steal</em> Nico's clothes?!"</p><p>Kayla scoffed. "No, of course not. I <em>borrowed</em> them. Besides, Nico--" she cleared her throat, "--I mean, <em>I</em> won't miss it."</p><p>Will rolled his eyes. "And why, exactly, are you dressed as Nico?"</p><p>"<em>Because</em> you're a lovesick idiot, Austin and I are sick of it, and we need you to marry Nico before I <em>explode</em>."</p><p>"Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm not marrying Nico, he's literally like seven." Will's eyes were wide, staring at Kayla like she was insane.</p><p>"As Nico, I take offense to that." </p><p>Will rolled his eyes again. "But seriously, why do you look like Nico?"</p><p>"We have a little skit for you, Willy Boy!"</p><p>Will's eyes narrowed. "Who's 'we'?"</p><p>"That would be me." Austin pulled back the curtains shielding his bed from sight and jumped to his feet, spinning around dramatically.</p><p>He had, apparently, stolen a wig from the Aphrodite cabin, too; a blond curly blob that was way messier than strictly necessary. He'd stolen what looked like face paint to make his skin a violent shade of orange, a jab at Will's tan.  He was wearing one of Will's scrub shirts, jeans, and flip flops.</p><p>"It is I, William Solace!" Austin put one hand on his hip and flashed Will a peace sign.</p><p>"Okay, I'm not <em>that</em> dramatic."</p><p>"Will --er, other Will-- can you shut up and let us entertain you, please?" Kayla sighed.</p><p>"Fine, but only because I'm highly concerned about where this is going."</p><p>Kayla squealed and clapped her hands. That is, until she remembered who she was pretending to be. "I mean, um, death. I like black. Uh... ghosts???"</p><p>Austin rolled his eyes. "Amateur," he scoffed.</p><p>"ANYWAY," Kayla said. "On with the show. Uh... lights, camera, action!"</p><p>"I'm supposed to be the dramatic one," Austin grumbled. </p><p>Then, completely without warning, Kayla flopped down on the ground.</p><p>"Oh, no, Nico is fading away," Austin said in a monotone voice.</p><p>"I am fading away," Kayla agreed. "Help."</p><p>"I'm coming, don't worry, Death Boy, my love, my darling." Austin produced a box of Hello Kitty Band-Aids they used for younger campers from gods' know where and threw one at Kayla. He didn't bother unwrapping it.</p><p>Kayla sat up, miraculously cured, despite the fact that the Band-Aid had landed several feet away. "Will, how dare you heal me? I want to fade into the darkness like the emo bad boy I am!"</p><p>"But Nicooooo," Austin whined, "I don't want to lose you! Who else will save my butt from Romans when I can't run fast enough?"</p><p>Actual Will huffed from where he was watching on his bunk.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Will," Kayla said, dramatically falling to the floor again. "I just don't know how to be around you without feeling an intense urge to bend you over and--"</p><p>"That's not in the script!" Austin interrupted. He cleared his throat. "I feel the same way, my dark buttercup. But due to a critical case of oblivious-stupidity-itis, I must repress my urges. Oh, the PAIN!" Austin flopped down on the floor next to Kayla.</p><p>"Why does everyone swoon in this skit?" Will grumbled.</p><p>"But <em>Will,</em> my sugar shmoopsie-poo, why can't we just admit our mutual attraction to each other and stop this hopeless pining?"</p><p>"Wow, what a brilliant idea, my angsty spaghetti muffin!"</p><p>Will rolled his eyes.</p><p>Austin and Kayla stood, bowing together. Austin's wig fell off.</p><p>Suddenly, there was the sound of slow-clapping from the doorway. "That," Nico called, walking into the cabin, "was both fascinating and disturbing at the same time."</p><p>Will turned around to face the door, slowly, like if he took long enough, he would die of old age. "Uh... Nico! What brings you here?"</p><p>"Kayla, actually. I'm guessing the thing you wanted me to see was that... lovely... performance?"</p><p>Kayla grinned and nodded, not even having the decency to look guilty, despite the glare Will was sending her way.</p><p>Nico rolled his eyes. "Apollo's kids are so extra."</p><p>Kayla and Austin fist-bumped, walking out the door of the cabin. Will wondered how the other campers would react to seeing them dressed like him and Nico.</p><p>"So..." Nico said, slightly awkward now that they were alone, "angsty spaghetti muffin, huh?"</p><p>Will chuckled nervously. "How much did you see?"</p><p>"Oh, a bit. Oblivious-stupidity-isis was a nice touch."</p><p>Will groaned, flopping backward on the bunk (okay, maybe he was that dramatic) and covering his face with his hands. "My siblings are the <em>worst</em>."</p><p>"Eh." Will heard more than saw Nico sit on the edge of his bunk. "They're not so bad."</p><p>They sat in silence, the son of death, and the boy who presently like dying.</p><p>"How much of it was true?" Nico asked after a while.</p><p>"Uh... oh, look, is that Austin's saxophone? What do you say we sabotage it in revenge?"</p><p>"Will." </p><p>Will peaked between his fingers. Nico's face was flushed, but he had that classic determined glint in his eyes.</p><p>"How much of it was true?"</p><p>"Uh... all of it? Just... embellished. A lot."</p><p>"That's..." Nico cleared his throat. "That's good, then."</p><p>Will sat up. "Why?"</p><p>"Because it, er, makes this a lot less awkward." Nico leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Will's cheek.</p><p>Will felt warm and fuzzy. "I don't know, my angsty spaghetti muffin. Still a little awkward."</p><p>Nico chuckled. "Well, you know what they say. Practice makes perfect."</p><p>Angsty Spaghetti Muffin leaned in again. Sugar Shmoopsie Poo wasn't complaining.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Anyone catch the reference?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Blue, Purple, Pink, and a Sprinkling of Rainbow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After communications are down for demigods, Will's terrified something happened to his mortal family, so Nico shadow-travels them both to Texas.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Prompt:<br/>"I just had this little idea, where like, Will could be flying home from Texas and visiting his family, and Nico is waiting at the Airport, with a poster saying 'NERD' or something."<br/>Requested By RosemaryAndStars</p><p>(I wrote train station, not airport, oops. Too late to change it now...)</p><p> </p><p>This takes place during the TOA-era, (SPOILERS) after the first couple of disappearances, but before Lester shows up.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I know it's stupid."</p><p>"It's not stupid--"</p><p>"I know I'm being ridiculous."</p><p>"You're not--"</p><p>"I know it's probably nothing, but I'm just... <em>terrified</em> something happened to them--"</p><p>"Will, for the love of Hades, will you listen to me?!" Nico reached out and grabbed Will's arm, stopping his relentless pacing. "You're not being ridiculous. I'm sure everything's fine, but if it makes you feel better to go and check on them, I'm not about to turn down an excuse to shadow-travel again."</p><p>Will exhaled with relief. "Are you sure?"</p><p>"Will. Stop stressing."</p><p>Will's shoulders slumped. "Are you really sure? Texas is a big jump for you. I can't ask you to risk yourself just because my family hasn't replied to my letters in a while..."</p><p>Nico stood from his bed in the Hades cabin. "Will, that's not it and you know it. It's perfectly acceptable for you to be worried, what with the recent disappearances..."</p><p>Nico must have seen the look on Will's face and realised that he wasn't helping, because he rushed to add, "Hey, I'm not saying something happened to them. I'm just saying it's not unreasonable for you to be worried. I'm sure they're perfectly fine, but I've got no problem with shadow-jumping over there for you to check."</p><p>Will leaned down and wrapped his arm around his awesome boyfriend. Nico stiffened at first, but slowly relaxed into it.</p><p>"Thank you." Will's voice was muffled by Nico's shirt.</p><p><br/>" 'Course, Will."</p><hr/><p>"Take a deep breath. You got this. Nothing bad will happen."</p><p>Nico raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend. "Are you pep-talking yourself or me?"</p><p>"Uh... both?" Will shrugged. "I'm a sun child; shadow-travelling could be, like, detrimental to my health."</p><p>Nico frowned. "I didn't think of that..."</p><p>Will waved him off. "I'm sure it's probably fine. I've got ambrosia and stuff. S'all good."</p><p>"Okay..." Nico said uncertainly.</p><p>"Nico." Will reached his hand out and grabbed Nico's shoulder. "Don't psych yourself out. It's fine."</p><p>"Okay." He still sounded unsure, but he grabbed Will's hand and dissolved them both into shadows.</p><hr/><p>It was lucky Nico weighed practically nothing, because the minute they emerged, he leaned his full weight on Will, eyes half-closed.</p><p>"Nico?"</p><p>"M'good," he slurred tiredly. "Jus' go check on 'em."</p><p>Any other time, Will would've stayed to make sure Nico was okay, but the two demigods were standing on the porch of Will's childhood home and the lights from inside were practically taunting him. Will turned, letting Nico climb onto his back. Nico wrapped his legs and arms around Will, leaning his head on Will's shoulder, already half-asleep. Will fished around in his pocket, pulling out his key and letting himself inside the house.</p><p>Footsteps sounded, coming down the dark hallway to Will's left, headed straight for him. "Who's there?" They called.</p><p>Will exhaled with relief. "Mama?"</p><p>The footsteps faltered. All of a sudden they started running, straight to Will. "Oh, William! Oh, thank the gods, you're safe."</p><p>Will's mother dropped the baseball bat (?!) she was holding and kissed Will's cheek. She wore a light blue shirt, jeans, and leather boots, looking like the country singer she was. Her face was flushed slightly pink. Her calm eyes were alight with a fire Will could only assume was affection for him. Her chestnut hair curled around her ears. Will couldn't help but notice the absence of her usual easy smile.</p><p>"Mama, who did you think I was?"</p><p>Naomi's shoulders sagged. "It's been... rough these last few weeks. The monsters have been attacking us like mad. You ain't even here! Not sure why... but Will, I was so worried about you! I couldn't reach you! I was worried you weren't gonna come back..."</p><p>(Will wasn't crying, he just has allergies, okay?) "I'm safe, Mama." Nico shifted on his back and Will started. He'd honestly forgotten he was carrying him. "I'm gonna set you down now, okay, Neeks?"</p><p>Nico nodded, not protesting the nickname, which was a true sign of how tired he was. It was completely understandable, of course. Sure, Nico had jumped much farther before, but Will had forbidden any shadow-jumping for the last few months. Shadow-traveling wasn't like riding a bike, Nico had once told him. You have to do it often, or when you do get around to it, it makes you even more tired than you normally would be.</p><p>"Will, who's this?" Naomi asked sharply. She looked seconds away from picking up the baseball bat again, so Will stepped in.</p><p>"This is Nico. He's my, um..." he trailed off, looking at Nico for help. The dark-haired boy just gave a small nod, yawning and leaning his weight on Will's side again. "Boyfriend," Will finished, flushing when Naomi's face lit up.</p><p>"This is him?" She asked excitedly.</p><p>Will nodded. He carefully extracted Nico from where he'd made his home in Will's side. "Say hi, Nico."</p><p>"Hey, Ms. Solace. Sorry to--" he yawned, "--sorry to intrude like this. Will was worried when he couldn't contact you guys... so I shadow-traveled him over here to see you."</p><p>"Shadow-travel?" Naomi raised an eyebrow. "Who's your godly parent, Nico?"</p><p>Nico stiffened, wide-awake now. He shot a nervous glance at Will. "You didn't tell her?"</p><p>Will shook his head. </p><p>It had completely slipped his mind. To him, it was a minor detail, like telling his Mama what Nico's favourite ice cream flavour was, or that he twisted his ring when he was nervous. Just a small detail. But he knew Nico was worried that Naomi's opinion of him would change because of his parentage. </p><p>"Sorry, babe. I completely forgot."</p><p>"It's, um, it's okay." He turned back to Naomi, chewing his lip, his hand going instinctively to his ring. "...My father is Hades."</p><p>He looked away, so he didn't see Naomi's kind smile. </p><p>"Hades is the god of the Underworld, right? That's pretty cool," Naomi said gently.</p><p>Nico shrugged. "It's got its benefits, I guess." His ears were slightly pink, either from shame, embarrassment, or something else entirely.</p><p>"Well, come over, then!" Naomi turned to face the hallway she'd emerged from. "Alison! Levi! Violet! Will's back!"</p><p>Will grinned as his three half-siblings bounded down the stairs. Alison, his older sister, had her father's blue eyes, and Mama's brown hair, though Alison had dyed hers with lime green highlights. Levi and Violet, seven-year-old twins, had Mama's brown eyes and a soft smile. Levi was outgoing, like Will, but Violet was shy and sweet. In fact, when he thought about it, Violet was a lot like Nico; hesitant and cautious from a young age, but with a heart of gold.</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw Nico take a step backward. Will pulled him to his side, knowing that Nico didn't appreciate the sudden chaos of people.</p><p>"Brother, I swear, every time I see you, you've got more freckles," Alison said teasingly.</p><p>"And every time I see <em>you</em>, dear sister, you've got more attitude!" Will shot back.</p><p>"Why were you gone so long?" Violet asked him quietly. "You said you would be back. And you haven't contacted Mama at all. She's been so scared, Will."</p><p>"I'm sorry, Vi," Will told her guiltily. "I tried to contact you guys, but nothing went through. I think communications have been going crazy for all demigods. But I did try, right, Nico?"</p><p>Nico jumped, not expecting anyone to talk to him. "Uh, yeah. You're Violet, right?" He pulled away from Will a little to make eye-contact with Violet.</p><p>Will's half-sister nodded. "Your name is Nico?"</p><p>Nico smiled. It didn't look fake. "Yeah. Will and I are dating. Is Will a good brother?"</p><p>"Don't answer that," Will told her.</p><p>"Most of the time," Violet said, completely ignoring Will. "Better than Levi."</p><p>"Hey!" Levi complained.</p><p>"Do you have any siblings, Nico?" Violet asked innocently.</p><p>Nico's smile turned slightly forced. "Uh, yeah. I have two sisters. One is named Hazel and the other was named Bianca."</p><p>Violet's eyebrows furrowed. Will knew she was smart enough to pick on Nico's use of  'was', but she was also smart enough to not say anything.</p><p> "Nico, you have very long hair," Alison commented. "I could dye that purple for you."</p><p>Nico's eyes widened. "Uh, no thanks. That's, um, nice of you to offer, though."</p><p>Alison huffed. "Everyone says no."</p><p>"How many people have you asked?!" Nico asked, sounding impressed.</p><p>Alison waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, lots."</p><p>"Can I braid it?" Violet asked.</p><p>Nico, surprisingly, didn't hesitate. "Sure. But I'm not sure it's <em>quite</em> long enough to braid. Will made me cut it a little while ago."</p><p>Violet gasped. "Will! Why would you do <em>that </em>?" She sounded truly appalled.</p><p>Nico nodded enthusiastically. "I asked him the same thing!"</p><p>Violet got an adorable look of determination on her face and grabbed Nico's arm. "We need to fix this."</p><p>A little laugh bubbled out of Nico. He let himself be dragged towards the stairs to Violet's bedroom, Alison following them closely.</p><p>Levi made a gagging sound. "Girls are weird."</p><p>"Nico's not a girl," Will pointed out.</p><p>Levi's face scrunched. "You're both boys? But Nico said you were dating."</p><p>"Levi," Mama scolded sharply.</p><p>One set of footsteps on their way up the stairs faltered. Nico.</p><p>Will shot a glance at Mama, before kneeling to be level with Levi's face. "Do you remember last Christmas, when you helped Mama pick a shirt to send to me? Do you remember what colour the shirt was?"</p><p>Levi's head tilted, confused. "I think it was blue and pink."</p><p>Will nodded. "Yeah, and it had some purple, too. Mama sent it because those are the colours that mean you like boys and girls. That's me. I like both."</p><p>"I didn't know that was allowed."</p><p>Will nodded. "Yep. So when you've met my past girlfriends --well, girlfriend--, they could've also been a boy. Nico's a boy."</p><p>"But you've never had me meet a boy before."</p><p>"That's because I've never had a boyfriend before. Nico is my first boyfriend. And just between you and me..." Will raised his voice to make sure Nico heard him. "He's going to be my one and only."</p><p>Will heard a snort from the stairs, before the footsteps started again.</p><p>"Two boys. That's okay?" Levi asked uncertainly.</p><p>"Yep," Will told him cheerfully. "Let's go make cookies while Nico gets a makeover, okay?"</p><p>Levi nodded enthusiastically.</p><hr/><p>"Levi didn't know you were bi." It wasn't a question. Will didn't need to look to know that Nico was standing in the doorway of Will's childhood room, probably twisting his ring. </p><p>"Levi didn't know what bi meant, much less that I'm it." </p><p>Will rolled over to face Nico and then almost fell off the edge of the bed. The girls had pulled the sides of Nico's hair out of his face, braiding it. The rest hung loose, but they'd brushed it out and fluffed it. Pieces had already fallen out of the style, framing his face, and Will honestly couldn't get over how <em>attractive</em> he looked like this.</p><p>The corner of Nico's mouth quirked up.</p><p>"I'm not staring," Will said defensively.</p><p>"I didn't say anything." He was definitely smirking.</p><p>"Shut up and c'mere," Will grumbled.</p><p>Nico shut the door with his foot and flopped down on the bed next to Will. He propped his head up on his elbow. "You worried for nothing."</p><p>"I know. Sorry I made you come all the way over here for no reason."</p><p>"Don't be." Nico sighed contentedly, his eyes half-closed. "I fell asleep while Violet was doing my hair," he mumbled. "She's adorable."</p><p>"She is," Will agreed. He pulled Nico closer. Nico laid his head on Will's chest, careful not to mess up his hair. "Did they wake you up?"</p><p>"No. They said I squirmed less when I was passed out."</p><p>Will snorted. "That sounds like them."</p><p>Nico yawned. "I'm thinking that I'll leave tomorrow morning. I'd leave tonight if I could, but I'm gonna crash soon."</p><p>Will shifted to look down at Nico in surprise. "Why do you need to leave?"</p><p>"Things are crazy back at camp. I want to make sure I'm there if anything big happens. That way I can shadow-travel back here and get you if you're needed. I may or may not have shadow-traveled us here without telling Chiron where we were going."</p><p>Will shot up. "You did <em>what?!</em>"</p><p>Nico shoved him back down and resumed using him as a pillow. "I told Butch. You know, Iris' kid? They'll figure it out."</p><p>Will sighed, but relaxed slightly. "You are so impulsive, you challenge Percy for ADHD poster child of the year."</p><p>Nico just hummed sleepily. He was out before Will got a response.</p><hr/><p>"I wish you didn't have to leave."</p><p>"Me too." Nico shrugged on his jacket, turning and kissing Will on the cheek. "But you should stay and spend time with your family. I'll meet you at the train station in Manhattan, okay? And if anything happens before then, I'll come and get you."</p><p>Will grabbed Nico and pulled him into a hug. "What if I get attacked? I can't fight."</p><p>"Run. Run as fast as you can and get somewhere safe. I've told you how to find Percy's apartment. Go there if you have to. Trust me, if I didn't have the ability to shadow-travel and be there the second I felt your life force fading, I wouldn't let you leave my sight. Ever." Nico sighed. "I have to go back and help. I'll see you at the station, I promise."</p><p>"Manhattan's pretty big. What if I can't find you?"</p><p>"I will be holding a giant sign with a word only you'll understand written in Morse code," Nico said sarcastically.</p><p>Will frowned. "...I don't know Morse code..."</p><p>"That's the only thing about that sentence that's weird to you?"</p><hr/><p>Will scanned the crowd of people nervously. </p><p>(If he couldn't find Nico...)</p><p>But he'd been fine all the way from Texas to Manhattan, so he could find his boyfriend in a crowded train station, no problem.</p><p>(He said he would be there...)</p><p>Will shifted his bag and climbed on top of a bench. It was one of the few without a homeless person sleeping on it. Will wanted to stop and help all of them, but the only money he had was golden drachmas. From the higher angle, Will scanned the crowd anxiously. A flash of colour caught his eye.</p><p>Towards the middle of the crowd, someone was holding a sign high above their head. It had the word 'nerd' printed all over in different sizes. It took Will a second to realise it was written in Greek. The letters were in the colours of the gay and bi pride flags.</p><p>Will smiled, rolling his eyes as he ran to greet his boyfriend.</p><hr/><p>A couple of weeks later, Nico went to the Underworld on a mission for Hades. Will waited at the top of Half-Blood Hill for hours, holding a sign that said 'dork'.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Did it take me 2,000 words to get to the prompt? Yes, yes it did. Also, I'm emotionally attached to Violet.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Sun Allergies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Every time Nico has a nightmare, he wakes up in Will Solace's bed. Nico sees this as a problem. Will does not.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Prompt:<br/>"When Nico doesn't feel safe like because of nightmares and panic, because of the jar and stuff, he accidentally shadow-travels to somewhere safe, which apparently is Will. he wakes up snuggling with the head of the Apollo cabin next morning. It's really embarrassing to explain because he was just starting to be confident in their friendship."<br/>Requested By Solangeloismysignificantlove</p><p>Tiny trigger warnings for dramatic joking 'I want to die'</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was because the Apollo cabin was closer to the dining pavilion than Nico's cabin, and he was just hungry.</p><p>Or maybe it was because Austin and Kayla were really nice people. They were.</p><p>(...)</p><p>Nico refused to believe that Will was the reason he woke up in the Apollo cabin more often than not.</p><p>Nope.</p><p>Not even a little.</p><p>Honestly, he shouldn't have been surprised when it happened again. He woke up in the Apollo cabin. In Will's bed. Snuggling with Will.</p><p>Will, who was very much <em>awake.</em> </p><p>Will smiled down at him, not even remotely bothered. Very much unlike the first time this had happened, when he'd screamed and shoved Nico off of his bed, before immediately apologizing and helping him up.</p><p>"Again, huh? Is this the day you finally tell me <em>why</em> I usually wake up spooning you?"</p><p>Nico shook his head, cheeks red. He had yet to explain, which he knew wasn't fair to Will, but he was finding it really hard to care. Stiffly standing, he muttered an apology, running out of the cabin and ignoring the snickers behind him.</p><hr/><p>In the Hades cabin, he flopped down dramatically on his bed, groaning. It was getting excessive. He couldn't control it, otherwise there was no way this would be happening. He didn't even remember the nightmare that had freaked him out enough for him to shadow-travel <em>in his sleep</em>, and wake up in <em>Will's bed</em>...</p><p>Just thinking about it kind of made him want to die.</p><p>He groaned again, but stopped halfway through. No point being dramatic if no one was around to see it.</p><p>A glance at his watch told him it was almost noon. He sighed. Another unwanted side-effect of shadow-traveling on the daily was that he usually slept in, ensuring that Will woke up before him and found out Nico was in bed with him.</p><p>Not that he wouldn't anyway.</p><p>Nico wasn't exactly discrete.</p><p>And he still felt tired. Probably from shadow-traveling every day without knowing.</p><p>It was seriously becoming a problem.</p><p>There had to be a way to stop it...</p><p>He briefly thought about not sleeping at all, but he'd tried that before to avoid nightmares and it didn't work. When he passed out from pure exhaustion, he couldn't even wake up from a nightmare. He had to wait for his stupid body to stop being tired, and he had to live through the nightmare for that to happen.</p><p>Wait.</p><p>Shadow-traveling was only possible because he could manipulate shadows. </p><p>So what if he just... got rid of the shadows?</p><p>(...)</p><p>It was a bad plan. He knew that. But he was completely out of ideas, and he needed this to <em>stop happening</em>.</p><p>And that is how he found himself standing in front of Leo Valdez, trying to come up with a reason that wasn't immediately identifiable as bullschist to explain why he needed two dozen sun lamps by that night.</p><p>"Well, you know, the Hades cabin is very... dark. And black. And... I don't like it?"</p><p>Leo pulled a hammer from his tool belt and spoke louder so Nico could hear him over the pounding. "You, the emo edgy angst factory, doesn't like your cabin... because it's too black."</p><p>"Uh... yeah. So, sun lamps?"</p><p>Leo gave him a knowing smirk. "Why sun lamps? Why not regular electric lights?"</p><p>He hadn't wanted to take the risk of regular lamps not working, that's why, <em>Valdez</em>. "Sun lamps are more... fun," he said instead.</p><p>"Ah." Leo nodded, like Nico was making perfect sense, instead of spouting absolute schist. "Always knew you had a thing for the sun."</p><p>Nico would've punched Leo if he didn't need something from him. "Can you make them? Please?"</p><p>"Why not go to the Apollo cabin for this? They can usually handle any lighting issues."</p><p>"Uh, too bright. I'm... allergic."</p><p>Leo grinned. "Aww, Neeks! I don't know if I can make you sun lamps, then. We wouldn't want you to have allergies, now would we?"</p><p>"<em>Valdez</em>..."</p><p>"Fine, fine!"  Leo lit his hand on fire and did some Hephaestus-building-thing that Nico didn't care enough about to describe. "I might not have them by tonight, but I'll try. Prepare tissues. You know, for your allergies."</p><p>Nico huffed and stormed away.</p><p>...what the Hades was he going to do if they weren't ready by that night?</p><hr/><p>To be fair, Nico had given Leo absolutely no warning, and it was already almost one in the the afternoon when he told him his request, so it was perfectly reasonable that the sun lamps weren't done by that night, but Nico was still, understandably, annoyed.</p><p>Well, understandable to him.</p><p>He'd had to resort to his other plan of not sleeping, and it was three in the morning and he was freaking <em>tired</em>. He'd been trying to recite Panic! At The Disco songs to keep himself awake, but he couldn't remember the second verse of LA Devotee and it was slowly driving him insane.</p><p>He sighed, stopping at 'the high rise lights read your rights'. He was so tired, and to be honest, his eyes kind of hurt from staring at the same spot on the dark ceiling of the Hades cabin. He could just rest them for a little bit...</p><hr/><p>"Good morning, Death Boy!" Will practically screamed in Nico's face. Normally, he'd let Nico sleep late, perfectly content to cuddle the day away, but today was inspections, and Chiron would not approve of finding Nico in Will's bed.</p><p>The son of Hades groaned, rubbing at his face. He cracked one eye open and groaned again when he saw Will. "Gods dang it, I thought it worked."</p><p>Will cocked his head, confused. "What worked?"</p><p>Nico stood hastily and ran a hand through his messy hair. He glanced at Will. "I'm really sorry this keeps happening. I'll just... go now."</p><p>Will scoffed. "You act like I mind," he blurted.</p><p>"Um. What?"</p><p>"<em>Nothing</em>."</p><p>Nico's face scrunched up adorably, which was unfortunate. Will's heart couldn't keep skipping beats like this. It wasn't healthy.</p><p>Will opened his mouth to say something else, but Nico gave him an awkward little wave and ran out the door, pointedly not looking at Will's siblings.</p><hr/><p>"One more day, Nico. That's all. You can wait that long, right?"</p><p><em>Not really. </em>Nico groaned, covering his face with his hands. </p><p>It had already been two days since Nico had woken up in Apollo cabin again after trying not to fall asleep. He hadn't made the same mistake twice. He'd gotten up and walked around whenever he'd felt his eyes start to close. It had worked; he hadn't accidentally shadow-traveled to the Apollo cabin, but it came at a price. He honestly felt like he could collapse right there in the Hephaestus cabin and not have any second thoughts.</p><p>"Just... as soon as possible, okay?" Nico practically begged.</p><p>Leo nodded, grinning for whatever stupid reason.</p><p>Nico sighed again and went to jump in the lake to help himself wake up.</p><hr/><p>There was absolutely no way Nico could go another night without sleeping. His eyes were probably going to have permanent bags as it was. He had no other choice but to go to sleep and hope for the best. And yet... he still refused to just go to sleep in the Hades cabin and chance it.</p><p>So, naturally, he found himself shadow-traveling to his bedroom in the Underworld. Because he wouldn't be able to shadow-travel all the way back to camp when he was this tired, right?</p><p>(...)</p><p>Or he could turn into a shadow trying.</p><p>(.......)</p><p>He was out of ideas, okay?</p><p>Nico flopped down on the bed, thoroughly exhausted. He was asleep in seconds.</p><hr/><p>As it turns out, his subconscious will still, in fact, shadow-travel him back to camp, even when he's exhausted. Uh... who knew?</p><p>He was laying in Will's bed, his dark hair messy where his head lay in Will's lap. The son of Apollo was glaring down at him. Nico rushed to apologize.</p><p>"I am <em>s</em><em>o</em> sorry, I didn't mean to keep shadow-traveling into your bed. I swear, I'm not a pervert or anything, it's just nightmares and stuff, and-- why am I covered in dirt?"</p><p>Nico frowned at the dirt packets covering his body. This had happened before, and last time...</p><p>"How long have I been out?" he asked cautiously.</p><p>"A little over a day." Will kept glaring at him. "Because you decided that shadow-traveling to Hades-knows-where and then shadow-traveling back to camp in the same night, when there are already giant bags under your eyes, was a <em>brilliant</em> idea."</p><p>Nico winced, trying to sit up. Will's arm shot out and pulled him back down. Nico huffed. "It was not as good of an idea as I'd thought, actually."</p><p>Will's glare didn't falter, but one of his hands started playing with Nico's hair absentmindedly. "Yeah, no schist, Sherlock."</p><p>"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I thought that maybe if I got far enough away, I wouldn't shadow-travel back here every time I have a nightmare! It didn't work, obviously."</p><p>Will's eyes narrowed, concern etched in his features. "You come to me when you have nightmares?"</p><p>Nico gave an awkward nod, his cheeks pink.</p><p>"But you come almost every night."</p><p>Nico looked away.</p><p>"Do you really have nightmares that often, Nico?"</p><p>"Yeah, but I always have, so I don't know why suddenly I end up with you every time."</p><p>Will didn't say anything. His expression was hard to read.</p><p>Nico felt the need to keep talking, so he did. "I think it's because... I think it's because I feel... safe... with you. It's stupid, I know. I'll find a way to stop it, I promise--"</p><p>Will interrupted him. "Do you have nightmares when you're with me?"</p><p>"I... I don't think so. I never really know that I shadow-traveled to you until I wake up in your, um, bed, and by then I've already had a nightmare, so I don't know for sure."</p><p>"Would you want to find out?" Will asked.</p><p>"I-What?" Nico stuttered.</p><p>"Well, Chiron would flip if you stayed in the Apollo cabin, and my siblings would probably tell on us, but if I snuck into the Hades cabin, we could probably get away with it. We'd have to fall asleep like that, of course, so you don't have to waste your energy shadow-traveling to me in the middle of the night. There's no guarantee it'll work, but I say it's worth a shot, what about you?"</p><p>Nico couldn't tell for sure, but he thought Will was blushing. "I'd say it's definitely worth a shot, yeah."</p><hr/><p>Nico knocked on the door of the Hephaestus cabin. Leo was the one to open it.</p><p>"Hey, Leo. Sorry to make you work on those sun lamps for so long, but I don't actually need them anymore. Sorry to waste your time."</p><p>Leo shrugged. "I'd be mad, if I'd ever actually started them."</p><p>Nico's jaw dropped. "What?!"</p><p>Leo shrugged again. "I kind of figured out what they were for. Hey, glad you found a solution, though. Let me know if you need anything to help with your sun allergies."</p><p>"VALDEZ!"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for forgetting to update on Saturday. Leave me more prompts below! Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Baby Steps In The Right Direction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nico and Will argue about everything. It's harmless, until it's not.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Prompt:<br/>"Nico and Will would be a couple. I don’t know about you, but I always wondered what topics Will and Nico could argue about... Seeing Nico do cute things to make up for the dispute."<br/>Requested By TheMissAna</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>"I cannot believe you."</p><p>"Seriously?"</p><p>"How dare you?!"</p><p>"Will--"</p><p>"No, Nico. This is completely unacceptable."</p><p>"Oh my gods, Will--"</p><p>"I don't think we can be together anymore."</p><p>"Because I think bees are scarier than snakes?" Nico asked incredulously.</p><p>"Yes!"</p><p>Nico grabbed a plate and sat down at the Hades table, an amused smile creeping its way onto his face. "Bees are monsters, Will. I'm sorry, but your fear of snakes is completely irrational. Is this some weird Apollo kid thing I don't understand?"</p><p>Will sat down next to Nico at the Hades table without realising it. Or maybe he did realise it, because he glared at Nico, like he was daring him to argue. "No! Well, yes, it's partly the myth about Python, but snakes are still extremely terrifying!"</p><p>Nico tilted his head in confusion, fork pausing halfway to his mouth. "Didn't Apollo kill Python, though?"</p><p>Will considered that for a minute. "I guess, but it's still completely normal for Apollo kids to be scared of them. And other demigods, too, because snakes are <em>terrifying</em>."</p><p>Percy sat down next to Nico at the Hades table, Jason close behind. "What are you guys arguing about this time?"</p><p>"Whether bees are scarier than snakes or not," Will said casually. "They aren't."</p><p>"I agree with Will," Jason said. The traitor. "Snakes are despicable creatures."</p><p>Will pointed his fork at Jason. "Thank you, fellow sane person."</p><p>"But bees are the worst," Percy cut in.</p><p>"Yes, they are!" Nico agreed. "They just go around shoving their butts in people's faces."</p><p>"Same," Connor Stoll said as he walked past the Hades table.</p><p>Percy rolled his eyes. "They serve no purpose."</p><p>"Same!" Travis cut in, right behind his brother.</p><p>"Clearly, Will, you've never been stung by a bee, because I swear, I'm scarred for life."</p><p>"But snake bites are more painful than bee stings," Will argued.</p><p>"Bet."</p><p>"Let's <em>go</em>."</p><p>Both of them stood, leaving their food behind. Will grabbed a fork and Nico's glass of orange juice and tapped them together until the dining pavilion got quiet.</p><p>"In there an emergency, Mr. Solace?" Chiron asked from the head table.</p><p>"Yes," Nico said, climbing on top of the Hades table. "I need everyone's attention."</p><p>The campers turned to look at him.</p><p>"How many of you have been stung by a bee?" About half of the campers raised their hand.</p><p>"What about bitten by a snake?" Will asked, climbing up beside Nico.</p><p>A quarter of the campers' hands waved at them.</p><p>"If you've done both, come here," Nico called. A group of about half a dozen campers walked up to them.</p><p>"Which was more painful?" Will asked seriously.</p><p>"Mr. Solace and Mr. di Angelo," Chiron called tiredly, "next time you need to settle an argument, please do it among your group of friends. This is the fourth time this week."</p><hr/><p>"<em>Percy</em>!" Nico shrieked at the top of his lungs. </p><p>Will walked up behind him, concerned. "What happened?"</p><p>"This!" Nico snatched the poster from his bed and showed it to Will. "Percy's doing, I'm sure of it.</p><p>The poster was a chart. Bold letters at the top proclaimed <strong>Argument-Settling Chart</strong>. A large column was labeled <span class="u">Argument</span>. Several more columns were labeled <span class="u">Date</span>, <span class="u">Winner</span>, and the names of various campers.</p><p>Will grinned. "This is awesome."</p><p>"This is <em>not</em> awesome," Nico deadpanned.</p><p>"It is!" Will insisted, grabbing the chart from Nico. "Look, we can put down what all of our friends think and then figure out who wins more arguments! Which is me."</p><p>"It is <em>not</em> you."</p><p>Will grinned. "We have our first argument!" He clicked a pen and brought the tip to the chart.</p><hr/><p>"I did not sign up for this," Jason complained. "But it's definitely cake. Cookies aren't sweet enough."</p><p>"That's what I said!" Will told him eagerly. </p><p>"But cake is <em>too</em> sweet," Nico argued.</p><p>"There's no such thing as too sweet," Annabeth said with finality.</p><p>"Yes, there is! You could get really fat if you eat too much sugar."</p><p>"Well, since you're the opposite of fat, Nico, I don't think you have to worry," Will told him.</p><p>Nico huffed. "It's still a problem."</p><p>"Cookies are better, Will, for sure," Piper chimed in.</p><p>"See!" Nico spun around and shoved his finger in Will's face. "Cookies are better, end of story."</p><p>"No way," Will scoffed. "That's three votes for cake and two for cookies. I still win."</p><p>Nico shook his head. "Back the Hades up to the starting line, Solace. We've only asked four people!"</p><p>Will sighed. "<em>Fine,</em> let's ask Leo and Calypso. Deal?"</p><p>Nico grinned. "Deal."</p><hr/><p>"Comedy is definitely better."</p><p>"You're only saying that because you hate horror movies."</p><p>Will gave him a flat look. "That's a perfectly valid reason."</p><p>"But comedy is so pointless! At least horror has an actual plot."</p><p>Will gasped, offended. "Horror has less plot than comedy. At least comedy isn't meaninglessly scary."</p><p>"Horror movies aren't scary, Will."</p><p>"Says the son of Hades! Why do you like them, then?"</p><p>Nico shrugged. "I don't, really. You just picked the other option."</p><p>Will gaped at him. "Nico, we don't <em>have</em> to argue about everything!"</p><p>"Yes, we do!"</p><hr/><p>The chart worked well for a long time, because Nico and Will hardly ever had any serious arguments. It was often about silly, meaningless things.</p><p>But sometimes, they ended up arguing about more important things.</p><p>"I have to go, Will!"</p><p>Will spun around and pointed a shaking finger in his face. "No, you don't. You don't have to do <em>schist</em>."</p><p>"I want to--"</p><p>"Exactly!" Will ran a hand through his hair, a nervous tic that he had. "You want to leave. Not had to. So you're just gonna pack up and leave, risking <em>everything</em>, especially your <em>life</em>, just because you're feeling a little bored?! Am I not interesting enough for you? You need some thrill-seeking, adventurous, <em>deadly</em> life? Well, whatever. Screw that!"</p><p>Will stormed out of the Hades cabin, leaving Nico behind to pack for the quest he'd stupidly volunteered for.</p><hr/><p>Nico felt awful the entire time he was gone. He couldn't stop thinking about what Will had said. If he could, he would turn around right then and go back to camp, but he was too far in to give up now. He just had to finish his quest and then get back to Will as quickly as he could. And, er, not die.</p><p>Will's words popped into his head. <em>"Am I not interesting enough for you? You need some thrill-seeking, adventurous, deadly life?"</em></p><p>Why didn't Will think he was enough? Didn't he realise that he was the only reason Nico didn't leave camp for good? </p><p>Nico sighed, which probably confused the monster he was fighting. He stabbed his blade into its gut, watching as it exploded into monster dust.</p><p>He had to find a way to make Will understand. Why didn't he just <em>get</em> it? He'd never had to worry about this kind of thing with the dead.</p><p>He debated what he could do. He wasn't one for grand, romantic gestures, but... Will was. Maybe something in the middle?</p><hr/><p>A knock on the door woke Will. </p><p>Sleeping was basically all Will had been doing since Nico left. He was insanely worried, though he tried not to show it. It was made worse by the fact that Will had no idea what time Nico should be back. Quests were weird like that. They could take anywhere from hours to months.</p><p>Another knock sounded. Will groaned and stood, running a hand through his hair to try to tame it.</p><p>"Coming!" </p><p>He shuffled over to the door and swung it open, having to restrain himself from jumping into Nico's arms when he saw him standing there.</p><p>"You're back," Will said instead, voice emotionless.</p><p>"Uh, yeah." Nico shuffled awkwardly, his hands behind his back. "I just had something to, um, give you?"</p><p>"You sound unsure," Will noted, stepping onto the porch and closing the door behind him. "Could it, perhaps, be an apology that you'd like to give me?"</p><p>Nico visibly recoiled, like he'd been slapped. "Yes. I'm sorry, Will. I shouldn't have left. It was stupid."</p><p>"Yes, it was," Will agreed. "Anything else?"</p><p>Nico nodded, swallowing. "You were right--" Will smiled, just a little, "--about leaving. And other things, too."</p><p>Will quirked an eyebrow. "Like what?"</p><p>"Um..." Nico pulled his arms out from behind his back and showed Will what he was holding.</p><p>It was a picnic basket. Nico gestured for him to open it, so Will did. Inside was a piece of chocolate cake, Will's favourite, carefully wrapped up in tin foil, and one of Will's favourite comedies, as well as a giant bag of pre-popped popcorn.</p><p>"I was thinking," Nico began hesitantly, "movie night in the Hades cabin?"</p><p>Will smiled reassuringly at him. "That sounds wonderful, Nico."</p><hr/><p>Will sighed, pulling Nico closer. He planted a kiss on Nico's dark hair. "Thank you."</p><p>Nico flushed slightly. "It's not a big deal, but you're welcome."</p><p>"It is, but I won't argue with you. About that, at least."</p><p>A couple of minutes later, Will sighed again, but for a different reason.</p><p>Nico shifted to see his face. "What's wrong?"</p><p>"You can't keep risking yourself like this. I don't totally forgive you."</p><p>Nico sighed. "This is a step in the right direction, though, right?"</p><p>"It's a step in the right direction," Will agreed.</p><p>That was one thing neither one of them wanted to argue about.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The Ghost King</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nico gets distracted while sparring when two campers are expressing their views on the other side of the arena. Trans!Nico coming out fic.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Prompt:<br/>"Hey, can I have a trans!Nico fic where he has to come out to Will? The rest is entirely up to you!"<br/>Requested By KitandTyareEndgame<br/>Thanks for the prompt! Trans!Nico is one of my favourite headcanons.</p><p> </p><p>I am not transgender or genderqueer. Please do not hesitate to let me know if anything I wrote is offensive (besides what's obviously meant to be for the sake of the plot), but please do so kindly. I tried my best, but I will absolutely make mistakes, so don't hesitate to point them out.</p><p> </p><p>Possible TWs for this chapter include<br/>1) Nico describes a heterosexual relationship as 'normal', which is very much an opinion I don't have.<br/>2) Mentions of transphobia and gender insecurities<br/>If these trigger you, I recommend not reading this one-shot, since there is no good way to skip over those parts and keep the plot.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Will should've figured it out sooner, really.</p><p>He should've figured it out when Nico was careless and had to leave abruptly while he was helping Will in the infirmary, because he'd worn his binder for too long and started having trouble breathing.</p><p>He should've noticed the way Nico stiffened when Will asked if his shirt looked too girly. Nico had asked if looking girly was a problem, to which Will had quickly explained that it wasn't, leaving Nico relieved but incredibly on edge for the rest of the day.</p><p>He should've noticed Nico's pained smile when Will had said, "I don't know if this is the right word, but it's the one that fits you," and then called him beautiful. Nico had tensed, but shrugged it off when Will looked at him in concern.</p><p>He <em>really</em> should've figured it out when Nico had been feeling the dysphoria like a knife to his gut and hadn't left his cabin all day because of it. Thoughts that he'd been having for years came back full force, swimming around his mind and making him question whether being a guy was all in his head or not. Maybe he was just making a big deal out of nothing and he really was a girl, after all. But if he was a girl, then why did loving Percy for so long make him feel like a monster?</p><p>But despite all that, Will didn't figure it out until Nico told him.</p><p>He could've kept quiet, of course. He could've avoided it all if he'd just ignored what he was hearing from the other end of the training arena and kept sparring with Jason. He could've avoided it all, but the two campers were having a heated debate and their voices were getting louder, and Nico's thoughts were matching their volume, and he couldn't think about anything else...</p><p>"Nico?" Jason had retracted his sword and was now standing, watching Nico. "Everything okay? You stopped fighting."</p><p>"I'm... fine."</p><p>He wasn't fine, he wasn't even close, but he got back into a fighting stance and clashed his sword with Jason's, ignoring the two campers.</p><p>Well, trying to ignore them, at least.</p><p>"That's more like it," Jason said, grinning. "I thought you were having a fit for a second there."</p><p>"I'm fine."</p><p>("Why is it any of your business what I wear?" Nico heard from the other side of the arena.)</p><p>Jason's sword came slashing towards his face and Nico just barely raised his blade to deflect it in time.</p><p>("Because you should happy with what the gods gave you, Evan."</p><p>"I told you not to call me that! Why can't you just let me live my life?")</p><p>Nico's blade slashed through the air toward Jason, but it was slow and weak, and Jason easily deflected it.</p><p>("I'm just trying to look out for you! You're my little brother and I care about you."</p><p>"I'm your <em>sister</em>, and clearly you don't, since you're causing a scene because I'm wearing a <em>skirt</em>. It's <em>my</em> choice, Christina, stop trying to change me!)</p><p>Jason stopped, lowering his blade and Nico mimicked him.</p><p>("<em>You're</em> the one changing yourself, Evan! You were fine with your body before. Gods, I hope this is just a phase. I can't deal with your teenage drama the rest of my life.")</p><p>"Everything alright, Nico?"</p><p>He just nodded numbly.</p><p>("Our mother is the goddess of love and beauty, Christina. Why are you not okay with me wearing something that makes me feel beautiful?"</p><p>"Stop it, Evan, you're making a scene."</p><p><em>"I'm </em>making a scene?! Well, you're welcome to exit the scene at any time, Christina. I never wanted to have this conversation in the first place.")</p><p>Jason raised his sword, so Nico raised his, too, still listening to hear despite himself.</p><p>("That's not what I meant. I just don't want you to ruin your chances with Sophie because of some trend--"</p><p>"That is <em>not</em> what this is about, Christina. And Sophie is fine with me being her girlfriend. She respects my choices much more than you do.")</p><p>Jason's sword flashed in his peripheral vision and he made a move to stop it. He was too slow. He felt a sting in his shoulder and heard Jason's sword clatter to the floor, quickly followed by his own.</p><p>"Oh my gods Nico, I'm so sorry, are you okay?"</p><p>Nico nodded, tearing his gaze away from the two siblings arguing. He craned his neck to see the cut. It was on his shoulder, cutting through his sleeve. The fabric was bloody and sticking to the wound. It wasn't large, but unfortunately, it looked relatively deep.</p><p>Jason gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I should've stopped when I noticed that you were distracted." He cast a distasteful look toward the one called Christina, who glared back at him.</p><p>"It's fine, Jason. It's barely a scratch."</p><p>Jason stared at him. "Nico, any deeper and you'd practically need stitches. You're going to the infirmary."</p><p>Nico sighed. He'd known Jason would say that. "I guess."</p><p>Jason beamed, which was super uncalled for, given the circumstance. "Great! I'll walk you there."</p><p>Nico scowled. "Like Hades. I'm not some damsel in distress, Grace."</p><p>"Could've fooled me."</p><p>Nico's heart dropped to somewhere near his ankle. "Is that how you see me?"</p><p>He didn't let Jason respond, turning and leaving the arena. He started walking towards the infirmary. He would've shadow-travelled, but he wanted the time to think.</p><p>He'd just finished processing his feelings for Percy and his new relationship with Will, and now the gods threw <em>this</em> at him. He'd spent the last few years of his life, ever since he transitioned, wondering if it was the right decision after all. Maybe if he'd kept identifying as female, he could've stood a chance with Percy and they could've been a normal couple. A boy/girl, heterosexual pair. Normal.</p><p>When he first met Percy, he hadn't transitioned yet. He was still Bianca's little sister who had a celebrity crush on Percy Jackson. But then Bianca was gone from his life, and Nico was gone from camp, and suddenly, he was free to be whatever he wanted. And so he entered The Labyrinth, and all of a sudden, he was Nico, Ghost King. He was strong, and brave, and everything he'd ever wanted to be. Everything that Percy was, though he hated how his mind had jumped to that.</p><p>Minos had been accepting, only slipping up with feminine pronouns a few times, since all the ghosts still talked about <em>'Hades' daughter'</em>. They got over it quickly, though, especially when he started changing his appearance to look the part. Gone were his days of dresses and skirts. Gone were the make-up Bianca used to put on him for fun. And the little braids he wore on the side of his head to keep his bangs out of his face? Forget it.</p><p>He missed it sometimes. He would use feminine things for the rest of his life if he could wear matching dresses with Bianca again, no questions asked.</p><p>But except for that, he loved it. He loved looking like who he really was. He used to spend hours every day staring at himself in the reflection of his sword and wondering how he got so free.</p><p>It only got better when he met his father for the first time. At first, their relationship was rocky at best. They both missed Bianca, and neither one of them were good at dealing with it. But Nico would never forget Hades' reaction when Nico told him that he was boy. The god had stared at him blankly for several moments and then shook his hand, saying that he'd always wanted a son that wasn't insane. Nico had laughed in pure relief, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that his eyes may have been a bit misty.</p><p>Not long after that, he'd met Persephone, and after some awkward tension, they'd both said <em>'screw it', </em>and Nico ended up touring Hades' palace with his stepmother and talking to her about his transition. When he'd awkwardly confessed to her that he wished he owned a binder (he'd also had to stumble through a vague explanation of what it was, which he only knew from talking to some of the demigods in Elysium), Persephone had convinced Hades to buy him one and left it on Nico's bed the next day. It was black, and so Nico had slowly developed the habit of wearing all black so he didn't have to worry about it showing.</p><p>When he'd met Percy again for The Battle of Manhattan, the son of Poseidon almost didn't recognize him. He was so different from before, but Percy quickly started using the right pronouns, and so had Annabeth and the others. So when he returned to Camp, he was Nico di Angelo, Ghost King, son of Hades and awkward emo. Almost nobody made the connection between him and Bianca's sister from so long ago.</p><p>He'd actually met Will before, too. Before he'd transitioned. He'd been talking about Mythomagic (of course) to one of the other unclaimed kids in Hermes' cabin, and Will had passed by. The kid Nico was talking to said some utter <em>lies</em> about Athena having 300 attack power, but before Nico could correct him, Will cut in and said, "It's 400, actually. You're probably thinking of Aphrodite." Nico had smiled up at him and Will had joined in their conversation for the rest of the day.</p><p>Of course, he'd still been the daughter of Hades back then. Will didn't remember him.</p><p>And now here he was, years later, Will's boyfriend and a completely different person.</p><p>Back in the present, Nico found himself in the Hades' cabin, but he couldn't seem to convince himself to leave for the infirmary instead. He internally shrugged. If it was really that bad, he'd go later. As it was, he barely felt the sting anymore.</p><p>Nico flopped down on his bed, shutting his eyes. Maybe someone else in his situation, after hearing insulting comments from other people, would start crying, but Nico mostly felt numb.</p><p>He felt like he should probably be having a mental crisis, but his main worry was that Will would be upset that Nico hadn't told him. He wasn't so deep down the hole of insecurity that he thought Will would break up with him because of his body, because Will wasn't like that, but he never wanted to keep secrets from Will.</p><p>Speak of the devil. A knock sounded on the door and Nico immediately knew who it was.</p><p>He sighed and started to stand, but a flash of red caught his eye.</p><p>"Schist."</p><p>His shoulder had bled onto his sheets, leaving a blotch of red on the light grey. </p><p>Will entered the cabin when no one opened the door, his eyes immediately zoning in on Nico.</p><p>"Is it <em>still</em> bleeding?"</p><p>Nico just raised an eyebrow at him and moved over to make room for Will to sit. Will grabbed Nico's arm gently, pulling it closer.</p><p>"Jason warned me that you probably wouldn't go to the infirmary. I figured I'd make a house call. What happened?"</p><p>"I got distracted during training," Nico told him, pushing up his sleeve slightly. He winced when the fabric rubbed up against the gash.</p><p>"That's not like you..." Will's eyebrows furrowed. "Did someone say something?"</p><p>Nico fidgeted uncomfortably, flinching when Will poured nectar on his shoulder, the cold liquid stinging him. "Some campers were discussing their... views. Uh, loudly."</p><p>Will tilted his head in confusion. </p><p>
  <em>Please stop asking questions.</em>
</p><p>Will asked a question.</p><p>"What kind of views? Not homophobic, I hope."</p><p>"No." Nico resisted the urge to pull his arm away. "But along those lines."</p><p>Will's eyes cleared with understanding. "You mean the girl from Aphrodite who transitioned. She and her sibling, Christina, have been arguing non-stop since she came out."</p><p>Nico nodded, not meeting Will's eyes.</p><p>"But why would that affect you personally? You've even gotten better at ignoring homophobia lately. Was it just because they were being loud?"</p><p>Nico shook his head.</p><p>"Then why... Oh. OH! <em>Oh. </em>Nico... Are you--"</p><p>Nico didn't let him finish. He nodded, pulling his shirt sleeve away and showing Will the strap of his binder.</p><p>Will immediately looked guilty, pulling his hands away from Nico's shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Nico; I didn't mean to force you into anything."</p><p>Nico just shook his head, not looking away from Will. A lump of anxiety formed.</p><p>"Nico. You know this doesn't change anything unless you want it to, right?"</p><p>Nico's gaze flickered up to Will's, before settling on Will's hand, which had reached out and grabbed his own.</p><p>"It probably changes a lot," he said quietly.</p><p>Will shook his head. "Not at all."</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>Nico could practically hear his smile. "Really. You're still my boyfriend, as long as you want to be."</p><p>"But are you even... still..."</p><p>"Attracted to you?" Will supplied.</p><p>Nico nodded.</p><p>"<em>Gods</em>, yes. I'm attracted to you." Will chuckled. "The hot bod is just a bonus, Neeks."</p><p>Nico exhaled in relief. </p><p>"Were you worried I wouldn't be?"</p><p>Nico shrugged slightly.</p><p>"That's stupid. Your body is a minor detail. And even so, there's nothing I don't like about it."</p><p>Nico scoffed.</p><p>"It's true!" Will defended. "Except for the fact that you're usually injured in some way when we're together, your body is perfect."</p><p>Nico looked away, cheeks flushed. "Thank you."</p><p>Will squeezed his hand. "Of course. And hey, let me know if anything I do makes you uncomfortable, okay?"</p><p>"I can't really think of anything... maybe don't call me beautiful, though. That just feels...<em> weird.</em>"</p><p>Will frowned. "I'll stop if you really want me to, but you are beautiful. Beautiful is now a gender-neutral word."</p><p>Nico raised an eyebrow. "Is it? Why?"</p><p>"Because I say so. It's neutral, because you're beautiful and handsome and sexy and my boyfriend, and that last one is pretty much a compliment in itself."</p><p>Nico chuckled, leaning back in the bed and feeling light. "Okay, Will."</p><p>"And you've got the cutest little freckles, oh my gods, I <em>love</em> your freckles."</p><p>"Okay, Will."</p><p>"And your hair is super soft, but mine is better."</p><p>"Okay, Will."</p><p>"Are you even listening to me?"</p><p>"Okay, Will."</p><p>Will sighed. His boyfriend was so mean sometimes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm cutting this off here because it's over 2000 words, but I have more ideas... Might write a sequel if there's a lack of prompts.</p><p> </p><p>Don't read and run! Leave me prompts! &lt;3</p><p>IF YOU HAVE TIME, PLEASE READ THE (SUPER LONG) COMMENT THAT I WROTE ABOUT UPDATES!<br/>TL;DR–<br/>I'm taking a temporary break from this, but feel free to continue commenting and requesting – I will still reply!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. We're Okay Now</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nico can't shake the feeling that his friends aren't safe after he has a nightmare about Gaea returning.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For whatever reason, I'm having a lot of trouble with the next prompt, so this is an original idea.</p><p>This is also pretty much a vent fic. I'm all too familiar with having an awful idea pop into your head that you can't shake until you have physical proof that it's not real.</p><p>It's nice to be back! A break from this series was super helpful, especially since I had a fever for a couple days (not coronavirus, no worries).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>In his dream, Nico was standing at the top of Half-Blood Hill, looking down at the camp. He spun in a circle, his hand automatically going to his sword at his side.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Who's there?" he called out. He was about to draw his sword when someone laughed, bittersweet and creepy.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"How do you not recognize me, son of Hades?" a voice spoke. Nico was reminded with a shudder of Cupid and the way his disembodied voice surrounded him. "You spent so long fighting me, after all."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That didn't really narrow it down. Nico fought a lot of people. "Where are you?" he asked, drawing his sword.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The voice laughed again. "Beneath you. Beside you. Around you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The ground underneath Nico trembled suddenly, before stopping just as quickly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nico felt a wave of fear go through him. He took off running down the hill. The voice laughed behind him, and suddenly he was running on nothing. The earth had pulled back like the tide and collected in a wave of dirt and grass behind him, leaving Nico standing on air, but he didn't fall.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The voice spoke again, and an invisible force made Nico turn to face the hill once more. "You thought it was over now, huh?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nico tried to speak, but it seemed his part in the conversation was done.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Demigod, you are the same as all the others. So ignorant. You haven't the <strong>faintest</strong> idea what immortals are capable of. You think I'm gone? You think I'm done? Well, they all thought that about Kronos, didn't they? And he returned. I am not gone, half-blood."</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strong>No</strong>. He knew now who was talking, but he didn't want to believe it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Brace yourself. I am not gone. I shall return, and once I do... I will take everyone you love. You will not escape me a second time, <strong>pawn.</strong>"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The wave of earth loomed over him, crashing down on him and muffling his scream.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Nico sat bolt upright, gasping. His breaths were turning ragged, his heart beating out of his chest. It took a moment to realise where he was, and when he did, it only fueled his panic.</p><p>He'd woken up in the middle of the night, like he did all the time, and climbed to the roof of the Hades cabin to look at the stars for a bit. He distinctly remembered not feeling tired at all, which meant not only was Gaea able to send dreams despite her slumber, she was also able to force him to fall asleep.</p><p>Nico felt another wave of panic hit him. What if she'd done the same to others? What if she'd caused one of his friends to fall asleep while they were fighting a monster?</p><p>And now that thought was imprinted in his mind and he couldn't stop picturing Reyna's body, Hazel's body, <em>Will's</em> body, covered in blood somewhere, alone, with Nico unknowing.</p><p>He thought of Hazel in her armor-- her armor that was getting tighter and tighter until she couldn't breathe, and Nico was over in New York, not doing anything about it.</p><p>He thought of Jason, flying, when he was suddenly forced to fall asleep, his body plummeting towards the ground at deadly speed, silent, so no one could hear to help.</p><p>He thought of Reyna, up late to check the borders of Camp Jupiter to make sure everything was secure. A monster would leap out of nowhere and Reyna would hold her ground, until Gaea stole her consciousness, and she was bitten and scratched and killed.</p><p>He thought of Will, up late working in the infirmary. He'd fall asleep at his desk and get trapped in a nightmare from Gaea, unable to hear a patient calling him for help. Nico knew exactly how badly losing a patient would affect Will, and he never wanted Will to have to go through that if it could be helped.</p><p>Nico was spiraling and he knew it, but he couldn't stop his mind from picturing all of his friends dead or dying, and he couldn't stand just sitting around in the dark, wondering how they would all go.</p><p>Nico barely thought twice before shadow-traveling away.</p><hr/><p>He emerged outside of the fifth cohorts' barracks, next to a window. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to shadow-travel directly into Camp Jupiter, since there was supposed to be magic preventing that, but he wasn't complaining, because he could see Hazel through the window, sleeping peacefully, no sign of it being forced at all, nor that she was having a nightmare. Nico felt one of the rubber bands around his lungs, the ones that made him struggle to breathe, disappear.</p><p>He thought for a split second about walking to find Reyna, but it would take too long, so he shadow-traveled again, this time reappearing outside of a door that he knew led to Reyna's office. He could hear her talking inside, along with Frank's voice, both of them discussing the plans for the following day. Nico breathed out in relief, two more rubber bands vanishing. Frank had been his next stop, but he could hear both of them speaking calmly, their voices completely relaxed.</p><p>But with the three bands that vanished, the others tightened, and all he could think was that maybe he should've checked on his friends at Camp Half-Blood first, maybe he was too late, maybe something awful had happened and Nico had <em>let it happen</em>.</p><p>Trying desperately to hold back his panic for just a <em>little while longer</em>, Nico shadow-traveled back to his camp.</p><p>He stumbled a little as he emerged. A younger and more inexperienced Nico might have passed out on the spot, but this Nico had shadow-traveled the Athena Parthenos across the world, so he could hold on a little longer to make sure his friends were <em>okay</em>, gods dam it--</p><p>Nico took a deep breath and looked around for the first time. He was in the Zeus cabin, and he could see Jason in the corner, immersed in a book written in Latin. He hadn't noticed Nico, most likely because he had emerged from the shadows in a corner so dark he might as well have stayed in the shadow world.</p><p>Seeing that Jason was okay made another rubber band dissolve, but like before, the others tightened. Nico knew that the minute he had seen in person that everyone he cared about was okay, he was going to crash, <em>hard.</em></p><p>Not wanting to startle Jason by announcing his presence (and not wanting to have a large conversation when he still didn't know if Percy was okay, or Annabeth, or <em>Will</em>--), Nico shadow-traveled away without another word.</p><p>And so it went. Nico spent the next hour or so shadow-traveling between various cabins around camp, hiding in dark corners, covering himself with the shadows as the sky slowly lightened around him.</p><p>He found Percy and Annabeth in the Poseidon cabin, asleep in each others' arms.</p><p>He listened outside the door of the forge and heard Leo tinkering inside, singing a song in Spanish, Calypso chuckling at him.</p><p>Piper was in the Aphrodite cabin, asleep.</p><p>On a whim, he also checked the Hermes and Hecate cabins for Lou Ellen and Cecil, for Will's sake, and because the pair had slowly added themselves to Nico's list of people he cared about. They were both asleep.</p><p>And now all the rubber bands were gone except for one, and this one felt more like a sphere framing his heart, encasing it and crushing it until Nico was barely breathing as he emerged in the Apollo cabin, his hands turning transparent and his eyelids as heavy as his heart, because this was the one that he couldn't stop picturing, and by the gods, if something happened because Nico was a coward and came for Will last, he would never forgive himself.</p><p>Nico scanned the dim cabin frantically. He saw Kayla and Austin asleep in their bunks, of which he was glad to know, but when he turned his gaze to Will's bunk, it was empty.</p><p>Frantic and unable to think clearly, Nico shadow-traveled to the infirmary.</p><p>That was the last straw.</p><p>Nico stumbled over to an empty cot and sat down forcefully, resting his face in his (translucent, at best) hands. His eyelids felt heavy and he longed to just sleep, just for a little bit, but Will hadn't called out in alarm when he saw Nico, which meant he either wasn't here or something was wrong.</p><p>Nico felt like crying. He just wanted everyone to be okay; was that too much to ask?</p><p>A snoring sound interrupted his thoughts. Nico rubbed his eyes blearily and looked up. He jumped in surprise.</p><p>His anxiety-induced imagination was partially right, which he never thought he'd want. Will was asleep at his desk, but there was no patient in trouble. Will looked peaceful, if a little uncomfortable, but that was understandable, since he was sitting in a wooden chair and resting his head on an open medical textbook.</p><p>Nico finally let out a sob that had been straining to get out since he woke up from the nightmare of Gaea.</p><p>The sound woke Will. He sat up and stretched his arms over his head until his back made a popping noise. He smacked his lips together, yawning, before he finally caught sight of Nico. His expression changed from sleepy and relaxed to alarmed in an instance. He sprung up from his chair and practically lunged toward his boyfriend, pulling him into his arms and letting him sob full-force into his shirt.</p><p>Nico finally pulled away slightly, wiping roughly at his face with one hand. The other was balled up in Will's shirt, almost daring him to try and leave.</p><p>Will's own hand came up to cradle Nico's face. He frowned when they made contact, no doubt feeling the darkness in Nico. "You've been shadow-traveling?"</p><p>"I went to Camp Jupiter and back. And a couple of other places, too," Nico confessed, not meeting Will's eyes.</p><p>Will sighed, but didn't scold him. "Why did you need to go to Camp Jupiter at one in the morning, Nico?"</p><p>"It's only eleven there," Nico said defensively. He hadn't really realised how late (early) it was.</p><p>"Why, Nico?" Will pressed.</p><p>Nico sighed, resigned. "I wanted to make sure Frank and my sisters were okay."</p><p>The corner of Will's mouth quirked, amused. "Of course they're okay, Nico."</p><p>"Gaea told me otherwise," Nico said darkly.</p><p>Will sobered up immediately. "A nightmare?" he practically whispered.</p><p>Nico gave a small hesitant nod.</p><p>Will sighed sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Nico. Are you okay now?"</p><p>"The others are." It wasn't really an answer, but Will didn't push. He just pulled Nico closer and buried his face in Nico's neck.</p><p>"You smell shadowy," Will said unhappily, but made no move to pull away. "Where did you really go tonight, baby?"</p><p>Nico sighed again. "Camp Jupiter to check on Frank and the others. Then back and forth between the cabins for the rest of the seven, your siblings, Lou, Cecil, and you. You weren't in the Apollo cabin when I looked for you, though..."</p><p>Will kissed his neck in apology, making Nico squirm. "I fell asleep right before my shift ended. Sorry, Nico."</p><p>"It's okay. You just worried me." Nico leaned over and rested his cheek on the top of Will's head, sighing contentedly.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Will said again.</p><p>Nico said nothing, content to just stay there with Will.</p><p>Of course, just because all of Nico's friends were safe then, didn't mean they would always stay that way. They were demigods. They wouldn't always be okay. Nico would shadow-travel himself all over the place to check on his family many more times, and sometimes, they wouldn't all be okay. But right there in that moment, he and Will wrapped together, with all of their friends scattered around the world safe, it was okay. They were okay. <em>Everything was okay.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I WILL BE CONTINUING THIS SERIES IN A SEPARATE FIC. I will link them together. The next one will be called 'Solangelo One-Shot Requests'. Any prompts I get from now on, or any I haven't written yet, will be in the new fic, or part 3, 4, etc. I'm splitting them up because the summary and beginning notes were getting too long. </p><p>Let me know which one-shot in this series you guys liked best!</p><p>Love you guys, leave me more prompts!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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